In 2025, consumption in Argentina closed with a 2.5% increase compared to 2024, although December ended with a 1.4% year-on-year decline. The data comes from the Consumption Indicator (IC) of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services (CAC), which was accessed by the Argentine News Agency. Thus, household consumption of goods and services ended the year with two consecutive declines, with November (-2.8%) and December (-1.4%) being the affected months. In monthly terms, the last month of the year closed with a 1.2% increase versus November. 'This evolution of consumption should be framed in terms of what happened with prices, as in the second half of 2025 a slight acceleration of inflation was recorded,' stated the CAC. The sectoral evolution showed divergent behaviors. Credit showed signs of consolidation after falling at the beginning of 2024. In particular, for households and families, it showed a sustained increase, although after almost two years of growth, it has only recently begun to show signs of exhaustion. The same trend is observed in vehicle registrations, while real estate deeds continue to drive general credit forward, showing positive year-on-year variations, although with less intensity than at the beginning of the year. 'In conclusion, mass consumption recovered slightly after a notorious drop in 2024, while durable goods consumption moderated the pace of its marked improvement. It contributed 0.4 pp to the general index and cut a streak of months of recovery compared to 2024, which occurred throughout almost the entire second half of 2025,' the CAC concluded. 'Housing, rentals, and public services' grew 6.8% year-on-year, contributing 1 pp to the general index. Regarding the other items, they experienced a 38% year-on-year drop in December, which contributed a 2.1 pp decrease. The 'clothing and footwear' item grew 4.9% year-on-year, offsetting the IC's decline by contributing 0.4 percentage points (pp). The consequence is that durable goods continue to gain ground in household consumption, displacing mass consumption, although to a lesser extent,' the CAC concluded. Looking ahead to 2026, they stated that the year begins with 'prospects of greater relative stability in this dimension, with the composition of household consumption tending to stop changing.' Regarding 'transport and vehicles,' the sector showed a 2.8% year-on-year decline, contributing 0.3 pp to the general index. It is relevant to highlight that after a 2025 of continuous growth in vehicle registrations (both cars and motorcycles), consumption of these goods seems to be stagnating, pronounced by the sector's decline, detailed the CAC report. Meanwhile, 'recreation and culture' also recorded a 4.3% drop against the same month of 2024.
