The National Institute of Statistics (INE) confirmed this Friday that Spain grew by 1.5% in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter. They are 4-tenths higher than the institution itself projected, with a sharp recovery in household consumption and also in the foreign sector.
INE explains that according to preliminary data for the second quarter published at the end of July, most indicators of the economic evolution of the quarter offered results until May. And sources from the Ministry of Economy emphasize that these figures “confirm the strength of the growth of the Spanish economy, which is driven by national demand and exports”.
In particular, household demand rose sharply in the second quarter, up almost 2.4 points compared to the January-March period, despite a hit from inflation, which hit a record high in July at 10.8% during the energy crisis. In August, it decreased to 10.4%.
“This good behavior is explained by the measures taken to protect companies, families and socially vulnerable groups from the increase in the price of energy and other raw materials and the progress of the implementation of the recovery plan,” the economist said.
Meanwhile, exports of goods and services rose more than 10%, the fastest quarter-on-quarter pace since the summer of 2020, when they rebounded nearly 30% after a major shutdown due to the pandemic.
This Friday, INE also reviewed the evolution of GDP in the first quarter of 2022, which ultimately decreased by -0.2% “due to the impact of the pandemic, the stoppage of transport and the start of the Russian war in Ukraine”, they listed. from the Ministry under the leadership of the Economic Vice President.
Spain leads the growth
Thus, the statistics confirm that in the second quarter, Spain as a whole increased the economic growth of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by five times. In our country, from April to June, 1.5% stands out compared to the average of 0.3% of the 38 states included in it, always compared to the previous quarter.
In addition, the OECD indicated in August that Germany had recovered to pre-pandemic activity levels at the end of this second quarter, the last of the seven largest economies (G-7) not yet to have achieved that. Spain has not yet achieved it, it is close to 2 points and the expectation is that it will not do so until the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024, after the recovery is slow and uncertain due to the inflationary crisis. Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This delay in the recovery in Spain after the historic COVID shock can be explained by the greater weight of the service sector in GDP and specifically by tourism, which just this year experienced the first full high season since 2019, without restrictions due to obstacles. A general increase in prices.
Nevertheless, our country leads the growth estimates for the end of 2022 and 2023 and may be the only major economy in the Eurozone to escape the recession that threatens Germany itself.
Source: El Diario
