SPAIN
Advanced GDP 1Q 2017 (INE))
In the 1Q of 2017 the GDP grew by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter and 3% year-on-year.
Employment April 2017 (Ministry of Employment and Social Security)
- In April the average affiliation to Social
Security grew 1.18% to reach 18,122,222
employed persons. In year-on-year terms,
there were 658,387 more affiliates (+3.77%),
the best number since 2006. - Additionally, registered unemployment has
been reduced by 129,281 persons, the largest
monthly drop ever, to some 3,573,036
unemployed. In comparison with April of 2016,
it dropped by 10.92% (438,135 persons), and by
17.9% among people younger than 25 (60,944
persons).
CPI (INE)
The annual rise of the CPI in April was 2.6%, as against the 2.3% in March, and the monthly rise of 1%.
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- This increase in inflation is mostly explained by the effect of Holy Week, with prices rises in:
- Leisure and culture (3.4%), principally in
tourist packages. - Hotels, cafés and restaurants (2%),
essentially in lodging services.
There were also price rises in Housing (5.4%), because of an increase in the price of gas. Core inflation (without unprocessed foodstuffs
or energy products) increased three decimal points, to 1.2%.
Exports 2017 (European Commission)
Spain is one of the Eurozone countries that is leading the growth in exports of goods and services, according to the spring predictions of the European Commission.
It is estimated that in 2017 exports from the Eurozone will be 3.8% (vs. 2.9% in 2016), with a growth of 5.7% for Spain, behind only Slovakia (6.5%) and Slovenia (5.8%).
Public Administrations debt March 2017 (Bank of Spain)
In March the debt of the PPAA grew by 11.16 billion euros to 1.12 trillion, the largest increase ever, to again surpass 100% of GDP. In year-onyear terms, the increase was 2.9% (+32.523 billion).
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- By Administrations, the debt volume is divided in the following way:
- National = 968.58 billion (year-on-year
growth of 3.2%). - Autonomous Communities = 279.095
billion (+4.94%).. - Local governments = 32.534 billion
(-7.1%). - Social Security: its debt remained stable
at 17.173 billion, after withdrawing 20,136
millions of the Reserve Fund in 2016.
EUROPE
Advanced GDP 1Q 2017 (Eurostat)
In the 1Q of 2017, the GDP in the Eurozone and the EU28 increased 0.5%. In year-on-year terms, the advance was 1.7% and 2% respectively.
Unemployment March 2017 (Eurostat)
In March, the unemployment rate was 9.5% in the Eurozone and 8% in the EU28, the lowest figures since 2009, as against 10.2% and 8.7%, respectively, the year before.
- The lowest rates were in the Czech Republic
(3.2%), Germany (3.9%) and Malta (4,1%),
while the highest ones were in Greece (23.5%)
and Spain (18.2%). - Unemployment among people younger than
25 was 19.4% in the Eurozone and 17.2% in the
EU28, in both cases 1.9 points below that
registered in 2016.
CO2 emissions in 2016 (Eurostat)
CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in the EU, which account for 80% of its greenhouse gas emissions, have dropped 0.4% with respect to 2015.
Emissions increased in most of the member nations, with the greatest rises in Finland (8.5%), Cyprus (7.0%), Slovenia (5.8%) and Denmark (5.7%). Meanwhile, the largest drops were seen in Malta (18.2%), Bulgaria (7.0%), Portugal (5.7%) and the United Kingdom (4.8%).
INTERNATIONAL
World growth predictions (IMF)
The IMF predicts an increase in world growth of 3.5% in 2017 because of gains in the advanced economies (2%) and greater expansion in the emerging nations like China (6.6%) and Russia (1.4%).
USA
In the 1Q of 2017 the United States GDP grew by 0.2% quarter-on-quarter (vs. 0.5% in the 4Q of 2016) and 1.9% year-on-year (vs. 2%). The slowdown is mainly the result of weak private consumption, as against the notable growth in investment. In spite of the data, April saw the creation of 211,000 jobs, the unemployment rated dropped slightly to 4.4%, and salaries grew 2.5% in yearly terms.
