The Spanish economy starts the year well. A growth of 0.7% in the first quarter of 2024, which is the same level that was recorded in the last three months of last year. In recent weeks, different indicators pointed to a good result, which this morning was confirmed by the data provided by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
There are three outstanding elements of this data. On the one hand, investment growth, one of the elements that was faltering in the Spanish economy and that is most worrying, and which in this quarter increases by 2.6%, which contrasts with the 1.6% drop in the previous period. . It hasn’t grown that much since the first quarter of last year. In addition, the growth of 3.7% in investment in capital goods and 3% in housing stands out.
On the other hand, household consumption is notable, maintaining the same growth rate, 0.3%, as in the previous quarter and benefiting from employment and the recovery of part of purchasing power; and finally, a good performance of exports, with a growth of 2.4%.
Growth is widespread in all sectors, although the growth of the manufacturing industry stands out, 2.2% in the quarter, and construction, with 2%.
For the Ministry of Economy, these data place Spain in “an optimal position” to meet the 2% growth objective for this year and highlight that it confirms the differential between the increase in Spanish GDP and that of the main economies in the area. euro. They also point to the balanced nature of growth during the quarter, with a positive contribution from both domestic and external demand.
In recent weeks, positive symptoms regarding the growth of the first quarter had already been lavished. Elements such as the growth of Social Security affiliation, the acceleration of PMI indices, and the improvement of sectoral and consumer confidence indices, already pointed towards good growth at the start of the year. And it has been confirmed, even above expectation, with this 0.7%.
It is these data that led the government to maintain its growth forecast for the year at 2%, a percentage that has recently been approached by the forecast of other institutions, such as the Bank of Spain. And they are also the ones who caused the Secretary of State for the Economy, Israel Arroyo, to reaffirm this figure ten days ago, stating that “this forecast is not excessive at all.”
Last year, a final acceleration allowed the Spanish economy to close the year with a growth of 2.5%, thanks to the boost in consumption, both private and public administrations, which allowed it to overcome a more negative element such as the fall in investment in the second part of the year. Today the INE has also reviewed the quarterly growth of last year, increasing one tenth that of the last quarter (0.7%) and that of the third (0.5%), while it has reduced one tenth to the first (0.4% ).
