According to a report by the consultancy Analytica, cited by Diario Río Negro, public works investment in Argentina fell 32,4% in real terms during the first half of 2026, placing infrastructure spending among the main components of the adjustment in national public expenditure. The study, based on official data available as of 3 July, found that primary spending by the national government accumulated a real year-on-year decline of 2,3% over the first six months of the year.
The contraction in public works deepened sharply in June alone, when infrastructure spending fell 74,9% year-on-year, driven by lower outlays on construction works and capital transfers. Transfers to the provinces led the overall spending cuts for the semester, dropping 62,1% in real terms, a figure that narrows to 52,3% when transfers to SAMIC hospitals are excluded.
While June showed a one-off overall spending increase of 3,7% year-on-year, the six-month balance kept the downward trend, driven mainly by the reduction in transfers to provinces and the cut in infrastructure investment. By contrast, economic subsidies moved in the opposite direction, rising 29,6% in real terms over the first half, a shift explained exclusively by energy-related transfers, which climbed 73,7%.
The Analytica report also noted that accumulated floating debt reached 3,9 billion pesos, equivalent to 0,3% of GDP, a level similar to that recorded in June 2025 and related in part to the seasonal payment of the aguinaldo, Argentina's mandatory year-end and mid-year bonus.