Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Argentina’s economy is recovering after posting its first contraction since 2002 in the second quarter, as the rebounding global economy spurs demand for the country’s goods, Economy Minister Amado Boudou said.

South America’s second-biggest economy is showing signs of a rebound after gross domestic product shrank 0.8 percent in the second quarter from the year earlier period, Boudou said at a news conference at the Economy Ministry in Buenos Aires.

“There are some indexes, such as consumption of energy, car sales, construction permits that show that the economy is having an acceleration this quarter,” Boudou said.

While the minister said last week he expects the country’s $328 billion economy, which expanded an average of 8.5 percent annually from 2003 to 2008, to grow again this year, economists including Alberto Ramos at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Neil Shearing at Capital Economics Ltd. forecast a contraction.

Ramos said in a Sept. 18 report he expects the country’s GDP to shrink 1 percent in 2009, led by a drop in consumption and investment during the first half of the year.

Shearing said in a report today he revised his 2009 GDP forecast to 0.5 percent contraction, up from an earlier forecast that called for a 0.8 percent contraction.

“A gradual recovery in external demand coupled with a slight improvement in Argentina’s terms of trade, following the recent pick-up in commodity prices, means that the economy should continue to show signs of improvement over the coming quarters,” Shearing wrote.

Quarterly Contraction

The National Statistics Institute reported on Sept. 18 that the economy registered its first year-on-year quarterly contraction since the fourth quarter of 2002. Economists expected the institute to report 0.2 percent growth, according to the median of nine forecasts in a Bloomberg survey.

Doubts about the accuracy of Argentina’s official economic statistics persist, Shearing said.

The government is working to regain confidence in its economic statistics, Boudou said today.

Last week, Boudou said the economy will grow 0.5 percent this year and 2.5 percent in 2010, helped by a recovery of the global economy, which will increase demand for Argentine goods.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eliana Raszewski in Buenos Aires at eraszewski@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 21, 2009 13:28 EDT