Spanish economy grows at fastest pace for seven years

The Spanish economy has grown three times faster than the UK’s so far in 2015.

Fresh data has revealed that the Spanish economy roared out of the blocks in the first quarter of this year, posting the best set of data since 2007 and putting the country firmly on course to achieve annual growth of 2.9 per cent.

According to data revealed by the National Statistics Institute (INE), Spain’s output rose by 0.9 per cent in the first quarter of the year, which was way ahead of expectations and the best performance since the pre-crash days…

After many years in the doldrums, household spending is also on the rise – a fact that goes some way to explaining the country’s solid economic performance, and music to the ears of the millions of Spaniards who have suffered through a double-dip recession.

In 2014, the economy grew by 1.4 per cent, but this year Spain is set to grow by more than double that. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said that his government expects economic performance growth to reach almost three per cent, having revised earlier projections up from around two per cent earlier in the year.

To give those figures some perspective, Spain’s economy has grown three times faster than the UK’s in the first three months of the year, and 18 times faster than the US’s, which has been blighted by a snowy winter since the turn of the year.

“The recovery is now moving on to a higher plane, elevated by a supportive external environment, namely lower crude oil prices and the recent slide in the euro, which will help to quicken the recovery momentum throughout 2015,” said Raj Badiani of IHS Global Insight.

Although the weaker euro means Spaniards have reduced spending power when compared to the US dollar and British pound, it has meant that demand for Spanish goods has risen because they are now comparatively cheaper, while holidaymakers and homebuyers from the UK have set their sights firmly on Spain, which is currently far cheaper than it has been for a long time.

Further, cheaper petrol means motorists are happy and goods can be delivered more cheaply to stores, with savings being passed on to the consumer. Add falling inflation rates helping to prop up the recovery, and Spaniards are finding that they have more money in their pocket each week than in the recent past.