MADRID: Economic output expanded by 0.9 percent in the January-March period on a quarterly basis, up from 0.7 percent in the previous quarter, according to provisional figures from the National Statistics Institute. On an annual basis the Spanish economy, the eurozone’s fourth-largest, grew by 2.6 per cent in the first quarter, up from 2.0 per cent in the previous three month period.
Spain expanded by 1.4 percent in 2014 — its first full-year of growth since a property bubble burst in 2008, throwing millions of people out of work – due to increased consumer spending and business investment. Like many of its eurozone partners, the country has also benefited from sliding oil prices as well as a weaker euro which has helped boost exports.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday said the government expects the country’s economy to expand by 2.9 percent this year, up from a previous estimate of 2.4 percent growth. The ruling conservative Popular Party hopes the recovery can stem its plunging popularity in time for municipal and regional elections on May 24 and a parliamentary election slated for the end of the year.
But the unemployment rate remains high, it stood at 23.8 percent in the first quarter, the highest level in the European Union after Greece’s – and is expected to remain high.