The economy started 2011 on a high note

Thanks to the tail winds, to good luck or to the expansionary macroeconomic policies that so far have had limited side effects, the bottom line is that the economy had a strong beginning in 2011.

Consumption continues to grow at good rates and consumer confidence is getting back to high levels of 2007, industrial production expanded by 5.6% according to FIEL and 9.0% to INDEC, while monthly inflation in the first quarter has remained below the monthly rates of last year. The weather is helping, as the concerns about a possible drought that people had back in December and early January have subsided as it rained in time and the agricultural crop will be close to last year levels, while soybean prices are averaging almost record high levels and remain clearly above those of a year ago.

The economy has certainly been an important factor in the improvement in Cristina’s image, and according to most polls she has made a significant come back, following a period in which the Kirchner’s had a positive image that remained only in the mid twenties. The index of confidence in the Government is a good proxy for the public’s sentiment in the Government. During Nestor Kirchner’s tenure and until early 2007 the positive view remained above 50%. It fell in 2007 when the Government started to manipulate the price indices and then again following the conflicto with the farmers.