Spanish economy shrinks by 0.1 pct in 2010
2011-02-14 15:06:34
Spain's economy shrank by 0.1 percent in 2010, according to figures released by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) on Friday.
The finding is moderately good news for the government of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. It had originally forecast a reduction of 0.3 percent in economic activity, although the Ministry of the Economy later revised that prediction to a shrinkage of 0.2 percent.
In the fourth quarter of 2010 alone, Spain's GDP edged up 0.2 percent, the INE said.
Predictions for the performance of the Spanish economy during 2011 have been made by several sources in recent weeks. The BBVA bank, Spain's second largest bank, said Wednesday that it expected to see a growth of 0.9 percent this year followed by a 1.9-percent rise in the GDP in 2012.
Spanish government predictions anticipate a rise of 1.3 percent in the GDP in 2011, while the International Monetary Fund predicts Spain's economy would experience slightly slower growth with just a 0.6 rise in the GDP.
All of the sources expect the economy to show more growth in the second half of the year.