The stability in Spain’s growth in the fourth quarter compared with the third is the result of two forces pulling in opposite directions: the strength of the export markets has offset the adverse effect of increased political uncertainty in Catalonia.
Of its total exports, Spain only sells 5% of high-technology products overseas, or 1.65% of GDP. The country needs to boost investment in high-tech goods and services.
Spain’s trade deficit in the first half to June 2016 dropped 31.4% to 7.878 billion euros from a year earlier, driven down by record exports, according to data published on Friday by the Economy Ministry.
Mari Pinardo / Raúl Poza | The global context of trade suffers a slowdown but that’s not in all countries and Spain is an exception. Chris Papageorgiou, who is Deputy Unit Chief at International Monetary Fund, recently pointed to The Corner that “probably this expansion is not more things being exported, is less things but more expensive.”
Spain’s exports now account for 33% of GDP, 10 percentage points higher than in 2008. There is nothing better than focusing the magnifying glass on the desired point, leaving everything else out of the picture, to behave like a perfect Pangloss. As you know, Pangloss is that character from Voltaire’s Candide who said that we lived in the best of all worlds because there was none better.
Spain’s economy has registered a gain in external competitiveness compared to the EU, the OECD and BRICS countries, based on the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
MADRID | May 22, 2015 | By Francisco López | The Spanish economy is beating new records mainly thanks to external factors. According to the latest data, exports of goods totalled €23.2 billion in March, the best monthly figure since 1971. The euro price fall has been crucial.
The Corner | April 2, 2015 | La Caixa Research | Competitiveness gains in the Spanish economy are set to persist as wage increases continue to lag behind other euro zone countries.
MADRID | The Corner Team | Exports are pumping fresh air into the Spanish economy. The recession-hit country’s trade deficit plunged by a further 53.5 per cent in July, officials said on Friday. The government is banking on foreign trade to be an engine of the recovery.
MADRID | By JP Marin Arrese | The Spanish government claims its structural reforms are paying off. For several months in a row unemployment performance has markedly improved, rising hopes to curb the current staggering level: more than one in four workers queuing in the dole. It also helps that exports are growing at 8% rate, allowing to save jobs and keep the economy running.