Argentina mining and energy output up 7.8% in May, driven by crude

Argentina’s mining and energy production, which includes crude oil and natural gas output, services and metal extraction, rose 7.8% in May from a year ago and dipped 0.6% from the month before, the government’s INDEC statistics agency said on Tuesday.

The newly-launched index, a reflection of a push by the government to ramp up the energy and mining sectors to support the main economic engine of farming, saw production rise 10.7% in January through May from the same five months in 2022.

The country’s crude oil production rose 9% in the month on an annual basis, while natural gas dipped 0.8%. Oil and gas services climbed a sharp 24.4%. Metallic minerals meanwhile dropped 17.3% in the month from a year earlier.

(By Walter Bianchi and Carolina Pulice; Editing by David Gregorio)