THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its forecast for economic growth this year in Spain to 2.9%.
That’s 0.4% higher than its prediction earlier in 2025 and more optimistic than the Spanish government’s projection a few weeks ago of a 2.6% rise in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The IMF in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) report published on Tuesday said that Spain’s economy will continue to be the fastest growing in the eurozone.
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It stated that Spain will almost triple the average growth of other EU countries (1.2%), even though the IMF has upgraded its forecast for them by 0.2%.
The two traditional economic power houses of Germany and France are predicted to have growth of only 0.2% and 0.7% respectively this year.
The news appears to be good for 2026, as the IMF expects Spain to grow two tenths more than expected, to 2%- double that of the eurozone at just 1%.
It says exports of goods to the United States from the main European economies, especially Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, ‘have decreased significantly’ due to the new tariffs.
However, it feels the fall has been offset by total exports from the euro area, ‘supported by higher trade flows within the EU’.
As for inflation, Spain will close the year at 2.4%, half a point less than last year but still above the target set at 2% by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Neighbouring countries will be lower than Spain and on average, inflation in the eurozone will close 2025 at 2.1%- falling next year to 1.9%.
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