Askume, Sept 27 – Spain’s economic performance in the first half of the year was stronger than that of other countries, growing 0.9% in the first quarter and 0.8% in the second quarter (INE), according to revised data released by the National Statistics Institute on Friday.
The revision brings the full-year growth to 3.1%, in line with the government’s estimate of 2.7% growth following sequential revisions by public and private organisations.
Analysts had expected growth of 2.9%, according to a Askume survey.
In comparison, growth in other euro zone countries was 0.3% in the second quarter of this year and is expected to be 0.8% in 2024.
In contrast to the weakness in other euro zone countries, the Spanish economy showed resilience to interest rate rises, with private consumption rising by 1%, supported by improving domestic demand.
Despite the use of the EU recovery fund, investment grew only 0.3% compared to the previous quarter.
The services sector remained a strong driver of the economy in the second quarter, with hotels and restaurants growing 2.6%.
But industrial performance also improved, particularly in manufacturing, which rose 1.5% quarter-on-quarter as it benefited from lower energy prices and increased competitiveness relative to other EU countries.
