A return to negative territory
Household consumption of final goods and services contracted 1.1% in August compared with the same month a year earlier, and slipped 0.8% seasonally adjusted against July, according to the Consumption Indicator produced by the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services. The result pulled the gauge back into negative ground after a modest improvement in July, leaving it at comparatively weak levels by recent historical standards and 2.1% below the high recorded at the start of 2025.[S1]
On prices, August brought a further slowdown in inflation, with a monthly rise of 1.7% against 2.1% in July and a year-on-year variation of 33.5%. The business association stressed that keeping inflation on a downward path is essential to rebuilding real incomes and restoring households' capacity to spend in the months ahead.[S1]
Activity and consumption move apart
The chamber's report also highlighted how unevenly consumption and overall economic activity have behaved. In 2024 both variables fell together and in 2025 they recovered in step, but 2026 shows a divergence: in June, the latest month for which the Monthly Estimator of Economic Activity is available, activity climbed 2.7% year-on-year while consumption dropped 1.2%.[S1]
Mixed results across spending categories
Clothing and footwear rose 4.9% year-on-year, adding 0.3 percentage points to the overall index, helped by a low comparison base against August 2025. Housing, rents and public services advanced 4.8%, contributing 0.9 percentage points, driven mainly by higher electricity demand. Transport and vehicles plunged 11.4%, subtracting 1.5 percentage points, dragged down by an 18.6% fall in car registrations. Recreation and culture retreated 8.2%, a 0.7 percentage point drag, in an uneven year. The remaining categories fell 0.2% year-on-year, a 0.1 percentage point subtraction, sitting only slightly above their August 2019 levels.[S1]
Mass consumption and household credit cool
For fast-moving consumer goods, July data showed a 2.6% year-on-year contraction, though with a seasonally adjusted monthly rebound of 4.2% from June. The chamber also warned of cooling credit to households: after a sharp rebound in 2024 and 2025, credit cards and personal and vehicle-backed loans have entered a slight but steady decline during 2026. That trend bears directly on demand for durable goods such as cars and appliances, which have fallen so far this year, while mortgage lending holds a moderate upward path that sustains the property deed levels reached over the past two years.[S1]
