Spanish economy starts growing again

12/02/2013 00:00

SPAIN´S central bank yesterday the economy grew 0.2 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the third, and that for all of 2010 it contracted less than the government had forecast good news for a country trying to dispel fears it might need a bailout.

The Bank of Spain said it estimates gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent in 2010, less than the 0.3 percent decline officially forecast in the latest budget.

The bank's quarterly GDP figures are preliminary. They are usually followed a week later by official numbers from the National Statistics Institute, although these tend to agree with the bank's.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Friday his government was determined to forge ahead with structural reforms in a bid to continue making the Spanish economy more competitive.