As a whole, the Spanish economy grew 0.8% in the third quarter of the year, the same as in the previous quarter, thanks mainly to public spending, which advanced at a quarterly pace of 2.2%, a rate higher by 1.6% points compared to the previous quarter, and household consumption, which increased by 1.1%, plus a tenth, according to advance data from the National Accounts published by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
This rate, identical to that of the second quarter, is higher than the forecasts of the Bank of Spain, which expected growth of 0.6% and confirms the good health of the fourth largest economy in the Euro Zone, unlike most of its European neighbours.
According to the Spanish INE, this fact is due to the strength of exports, which increased by 0.9%, after having already increased by 0.7% in the second quarter, but also to the strong consumption of families (+1.1%), in a context of slowing inflation.
This dynamic was reflected in the good performance of the services sector, where activity increased by 1.1%, in a context of record number of tourists, with 21.8 million foreign visitors received between July and August.
The agricultural sector (+0.5%) and, to a lesser extent, the industrial sector (+0.2%) also benefited. On the other hand, activity decreased in the construction sector (-1.4%), after three consecutive quarters of growth, according to INE.
The third-quarter results put Spain in a favorable position to achieve the 2.7% annual growth target set by the government — a forecast that was revised upwards by 0.3 points in September.
Last week, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez congratulated Spain on “an extraordinary moment”, insisting at an economic forum that the country was “ahead of all developed countries”.
This message was repeated by his Economy Minister, Carlos Cuerpo, who said that Spain will be “one of the main engines of growth in the Euro Zone this year”, thanks to tourism and the dynamism of exports.
The Spanish INE revised annual growth in the second quarter upward by a tenth of a percentage point to 3.2%.