Argentina’s economic activity plunged 26.4% in April, the country’s official statistics agency said on Monday, the worst monthly fall on record as the country reeled from the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic and a nationwide lockdown. The April drop, after the South American grains producer imposed the lockdown in mid-March, was worse than the 21% decline predicted by analysts polled by Reuters, underscoring how badly the pandemic has battered local industry. Argentina’s government faces a tough balancing act between combating a recent spike in COVID-19 cases and reopening the economy. It has extended a quarantine in and around Buenos Aires but relaxed rules in other parts of the country. The fall, which followed an 11.5% drop in March, surpassed declines during crises in 2002 and 2009 and was the worst since statistics agency INDEC started record keeping in 1993. Already mired in recession for […]