BUENOS AIRES, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Argentine gross domestic product grew 0.6% in the second quarter of the year, the country’s statistics agency said on Thursday, its first rise since the start of 2018, as Latin America’s No. 3 economy battles to reignite growth.
News of the modest economic expansion in the April-June period came as the country prepares for the Oct. 27 election, following a landslide defeat for President Mauricio Macri in the August primary vote, which hammered local markets lower.
The country’s economy shrank 2.5% last year and 5.8% in the first quarter of 2019. The government expects a 2.6% contraction this year.
The country’s unemployment rate rose to 10.6% in the second quarter from 9.6% in the same period last year, the official INDEC statistics agency also said on Thursday. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein)
