(Reuters) -Spain’s economy slowed to 0.6% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous period, as geopolitical turmoil and the shadow of continuing trade tensions heighten concerns about global growth.
On an annual basis, Spain’s first-quarter economic output expanded 2.8%, the country’s National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Wednesday, confirming the preliminary growth data released in April.
That was lower than the previous quarter’s revised 3.3% annualised growth. Quarter-on-quarter growth slowed from 0.7%.
In June, Spain’s central bank lowered its economic growth forecast for 2025 to 2.4% from 2.7%, but it was still well above the Eurozone’s expected 0.9% growth.
Bank of Spain Governor Jose Luis Escriva attributed the lower forecast compared to last year’s 3.2% expansion to the uncertainty from the tariff war involving the United States, China and Europe.
France and Italy have also trimmed their annual growth forecasts to 0.6%, while German economic institutes cut the country’s expected economic expansion in 2025 to 0.1%.
(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga; Editing by Inti Landauro and Charlie Devereux)
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