MADRID: Consumption continued to rise in Spain contributing to the country’s economic recovery, the economics newspaper Expansion reported on Thursday citing the Bank of Spain.
According to it, consumption continued to rise by the end of 2015, proving that the political instability that resulted from the elections in December was not having an impact on demand or other economic agents.
The bank said that car sales were increasing, as well as sales of good and services and industrial production. It also pointed out that consumers’ confidence was rising while interest rates were falling which made demand for mortgages to rise.
However, on the other hand, the newspaper pointed out that investments were decreasing due to the political situation as no party was able to form government yet. Business operations fell to the levels of 20 years ago and according to experts, Expansion said, uncertainty periods have an impact on consumption and employment later than in other areas.
Spain’s Acting Minister of Economy and Competitiveness Luis de Guindos had said that Spain’s economy could grow by 3.5 percent in 2016, while the Bank of Spain predicted a 0.8 percent growth for the last quarter of 2015.
