Spanish economic growth slows

On an annual basis the economy expanded 6.3%, after rising 5.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021, statistics agency INE said.

The growth rate was a whisker below a preliminary reading released by INE at the end of April that had shown output expanding 0.3% from the previous quarter and 6.4% from the first quarter of 2021.

Earlier this month, the Bank of Spain lowered its growth forecast for the full year to 4.1% from 4.5%, taking into account the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and pressure on economic activity earlier in the year stemming from the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

Spain's economy rebounded 5.1% in 2021 from a pandemic-induced slump of -10.8% in 2020.