The growth of the Spanish economy slowed by two tenths in the second quarter of the year, recording an increase of 0,2% on a quarterly basis, slightly down from 0,4% in the first quarter of 2011. The statement was made today by the National Institute of Statistics of the country (INE). These forecasts coincide with the predictions of the Banco de España of early August.
Ine also revised upwards the GDP data for the first quarter: the economy of the Iberian country grew in the first three months of 2011 by 0,4% compared to the previous quarter (and not by 0,3%) and by 0,9% on an annual basis (and not 0,8%). So the period from April to June becomes the third consecutive quarter of growth on a cyclical basis and the fourth on an annual basis.
The slight deceleration of the economy is mainly due to the reduction in household final consumption, the drop in investments in fixed capital and the decrease in public administration expenditure. For the first time since the first quarter of 2010, private consumption fell to -0,2% compared to 0,7% in the first quarter. Behind this result is the fact that the comparison is made with a period in 2010 in which the maximum of the spending cycle was reached.
The growth in GDP is a consequence of the positive contribution of exports, which doubled their contribution to GDP (from 1,3 to 2,6 points) and offset the weight of national demand on the Spanish economy. The country's demand recorded a drop of 1,9%, up from the -0,4% of the previous quarter. Employment fell at a rate of 1%, four tenths less than in the first quarter of the year, which assumes a net reduction of 172 full-time jobs in one year.
Several analysts, the Banco de Espana and real supranational bodies argue that the Spanish economy will grow less this year than the Government had forecast, which had estimated growth of 1,3% in 2011, after a contraction of 0,1. 2010% in 2011. Estimates by the Spanish Central Bank predict growth of 0,8% for XNUMX.
