The Spanish economy slows down, but avoids the eurozone stoppage and grows 0.3% in the third quarter

The Spanish economy slowed down slightly in the third quarter, growing by 0.3%, one tenth less than the figure recorded between April and June. This is reflected in the national accounting data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) in the first quarter.. However, the growth recorded between July and September means that Spain is being able to avoid for the moment the slowdown in activity that is sweeping the EU, where the GDP has barely moved in recent months.

The increase in GDP has surprised most analysts, who predicted a more pronounced slowdown and even that the economy could suffer a slight contraction. Most forecasts expected between 0.1 and -0.1% growth, but the good employment data brought by the EPA on Thursday already anticipated that there could be a positive surprise.

The resilience of the Spanish economy is explained exclusively by the increase in household consumption, which contributed nine tenths to the growth recorded between July and September.. Household spending compensated for the fall in investment, which dropped two tenths, and in the foreign sector, which dropped another four.

The resilience of consumption may be somewhat surprising after two years in which households have had to endure sharp price increases. More at a point in which the monthly payment of variable mortgages has skyrocketed, forcing some four million households to tighten their belts. However, record employment figures – with 21,265,900 people working – fuel a growing consumer base.

Consumption is confirmed as the only engine of growth. In the second quarter, investment still held up after advancing 0.6% compared to the first three months of the year. However, between July and September it contracted by 0.8%, weighed down by the tightening of financial conditions brought about by the ECB's rate hikes.. While exports accentuate the decline they already recorded in the first quarter of the year and plummet by 3.9%. A retraction that is explained by the state of weakness of the eurozone, which has slowed the sales of Spanish companies abroad.

For the acting Government, GDP growth in the third quarter is “very notable in a context of high international uncertainty and rising interest rates.” “This data confirms the differential growth of the Spanish economy with respect to the main countries in the euro zone and is in line with the macroeconomic forecasts included in the Budget Plan,” the Ministry of Economic Affairs celebrates.