MADRID (Reuters) – The Bank of Spain on Thursday backed a positive light on the progress of the national economy, confirming the expansion of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of 2015 improved consumption and revised upwards its growth forecast for the year.
“According to the information available, it is estimated that GDP would have grown in the period from January to March at a quarterly rate of 0.8 percent, which would put its rate of change at 2.5 per percent, “said the institution in its quarterly report.
The expanded program of asset purchases by the European Central Bank (ECB), the depreciation of the euro and the fall in oil prices encouraged consumption and positively impact the rest of the European economies, he said.
Given these factors, the Bank of Spain increased by eight tenths its growth forecast for the year to 2.8 percent. At the same time, wait an average annual rate of 2.7 percent in 2016, slightly upward risks.
In terms of pricing, the institution considers that given the sharp decline in oil prices, inflation could fall by 0.2 percent on average in 2015 and recorded an increase slightly over one percent in 2016.
Excluding the volatile energy component, analysts expect the Bank of Spain a modest rebound in line with “the scenario of sustained growth in household spending.”
(Reporting by Carlos Ruano; Editing by Inmaculada Sanz in Madrid and Derek Caney in Santiago de Chile)
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