Spain to revise 2020 GDP contraction forecast to 10-11pc, Europa Press says

Men wearing face masks walk past a figure of a cow wearing a protective mask outside a shop, amid the Covid-19 outbreak in Barcelona, Spain August 4, 2020. — Reuters pic

MADRID, Sept 28 — The Spanish government plans to revise its forecast for economic contraction this year to between 10 per cent and 11 per cent from a previous 9.2 per cent announced in May, newswire Europa Press reported yesterday, citing sources from the government.

The government will update its GDP forecast for this year in early October and is likely to update its budget deficit target too to a wider deficit than the 10.3 per cent of GDP target announced in May, the news wire said.

A spokesman for the Economy Ministry declined to comment.

The Spanish economy contracted a record 17.8 per cent in the second quarter compared with the previous quarter and 21.5 per cent compared with the same quarter a year earlier.

Spanish authorities had imposed one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns to curb the pandemic from mid-March to late June, triggering one of the deepest recessions in the region. Early indicators in August showed the recovery initiated in July slowed down during the summer. — Reuters

Source: Malay Mail