Slowing down, slowing down and slowing down. The word has been used most often in recent months to describe what the Spanish economy expects to experience in the second half of this year. Even the Bank of Spain did not rule out a fall in quarterly GDP in October due to rising rates, the war in the Gaza Strip and other factors that should have put pressure on confidence, consumption or investment. It has not been fulfilled: national accounting data confirmed this Friday that Spain grew 0.3% in the third quarter. as announced by the same National Institute of Statistics (INE) 15 days ago.

If this less than in the first quarter (0.6%). two quarters in a row, plus 0.2% growth in the second), at a time when there is a cooling in activity that is trying to trigger higher interest rates, as well as strong inflation – two factors that should be noticeable in consumption.

He Consumption remains the main driver economy, and this is expected to continue next year, especially thanks to the modest wage increases that will occur this year, as well as good employment dynamics. INE data actually confirms that household consumption recovered to pre-pandemic purchasing levels in the third quarter, up 1.4% from the previous quarter, although consumer confidence is already slowing to make large purchases. In this context, institutions such as the Bank of Spain expect activity to increase by a further 0.3% in the fourth quarter.

“GDP registered growth of 0.3% in the third quarter, confirming the positive evolution of the Spanish economy. conditions of high international uncertainty, rising interest rates and stagnation in the eurozone,” the Ministry of Economy assessed in comments distributed in the media.

investments were negative, while it recorded a decline of 0.6% after two positive quarters, with residential investment falling to 2.5% from a 3.4% rise in the previous quarter. They fell too export and import, 4.1 and 2.9%, and they did so to a greater extent than in the second quarter, their first down quarter of the year. On an annualized basis, GDP grew 1.8% in the third quarter, up from 2% in the second quarter. This is the most moderate year-on-year performance since the first quarter of 2021.

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