Argentine auto output down 46 pct in June yr/yr

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, July 3 Reuters reported that Argentina's national auto output fell 46 percent in June from the same month a year earlier, as one of the hardest-hit sectors of the ailing economy since a recession began in mid-1998 continued to contract, an industry group said on Wednesday.

Industry group ADEFA said production in June totaled 13,887 units -- an 8.9 percent decline compared with May as the country's chaotic four-year recession has ravaged consumer spending on durable goods.

Auto production in the first six months of the year fell 48.3 percent from the January-June period in 2001, the group said in a statement.

Auto exports, mostly to Brazil, fell 52.3 percent from June 2001 and dropped 20.4 percent compared with May. Dealer sales fell 72.2 percent year-on-year and were down 29.5 percent from May.

Argentina's recession spun out of control in December, when a government-decreed freeze of bank deposits stifled purchases of consumer goods. Then in January the government defaulted on a portion of its $133 billion public debt and devalued the peso currency, which has since lost more than 70 percent of its value against the dollar.