Resumen de The Spanish economy in 2019

Pana Alves, Pablo Burriel Llombart, José Antonio Cuenca Morales, José Luis Fernández, Coral García, Mario Izquierdo, César Martín Machuca, Carmen Martínez Carrascal, Enrique Moral-Benito, Carmen Sánchez Carretero, Isabel Sánchez Burgos, Ana Gómez Loscos (coord.)

• The Spanish economy prolonged its expansionary phase in 2019. However, its growth rate moderated, due to the loss of momentum of domestic demand, which counteracted the larger contribution of the external sector. The deceleration of internal demand reflected the lower dynamism of private consumption and investment, while the external demand contribution was the result of an easing in imports and some acceleration in exports. In line with these developments, employment creation grew at a slower pace. In any case, the Spanish economy showed greater resilience to the deterioration of the external context than the euro area, and hence kept its positive growth differential. Inflationary pressures remained contained in spite of the increase in unit labour costs. Against this background, the Spanish economy moved in early 2020 on a progressively decelerating path towards its potential growth rate. This outlook has been completely changed by the global health crisis caused by COVID-19. It has affected with virulence a large number of countries, including Spain, and is severely disrupting economic activity. The duration and intensity of the crisis is currently shrouded in great uncertainty.