Spanish economy grew 1% during 2Q – The Economist

The Spanish growth continued to accelerate in the second quarter with a rise in GDP of 1% compared to the previous quarter, according to provisional data released Thursday by the National Statistics Institute.

The Spanish growth continued to accelerate in the second quarter with an increase of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 1% compared to the previous quarter, according to provisional data released Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

In the first quarter, growth reached 0.9% year on year variation, GDP increased 3.1% between April and June, the INE said without specifying the sectors that contributed most to the rise.

On the other hand, the agency said -in a first estimate-that the evolution of prices was zero in July compared to the same period last year, due mainly to the fall in fuel prices .

“If we take the first half, practically is a growth of 3.8%, which is a very high growth, and that is combined with a non-existent inflation and positive developments in consumption and exports” Minister of Economy, Luis de Guindos, welcomed on Thursday in an interview with Onda Cero radio.

This low inflation will continue over the coming months and will increase at year end, according to the monthly newsletter European Central Bank published on Thursday, so Spain dodge the risk of deflation as its economy continues to accelerate.

But while “out of recession, we have not yet emerged from the crisis,” admitted Minister, recalling for example the high unemployment rate of 22.4%, the second highest in the EU after Greece.

Since 2014, the fourth largest economy in the euro area generated about half a million jobs although most were precarious, temporary or part-time.

In addition, high debt of the country, equivalent to almost 100% of GDP, makes this recovery still vulnerable, the minister said.

After five years of recession and stagnation triggered by the bursting of the housing bubble in 2008 coupled with the global financial crisis, the Spanish economy began to recover in 2014 with growth of 1.4% of GDP.

But the effects of the recovery will not reach all the Spaniards, who saw poverty and unemployment soared in recent years. Currently, half of the 5 million unemployed do not receive any benefits.

“We closed what the recession, but we have to recover what we have not grown during those years,” said De Guindos.

ERP