Retail sales in Spain jumped in April, rising for the first time in three months on lucrative jobs sector, ignoring the ongoing political deadlock in the country. This indicates rising momentum for the second quarter as the country prepares for yet another round of election in June this year.
Monthly sales on a seasonally-adjusted basis ticked up 0.6 pct, marking the fastest pace since January, the Madrid-based National Statistics Institute said on Friday. From a year ago, retail sales jumped 4.1 percent in April, the report showed.
However, the economy grew 0.8 percent in the first quarter, above markets expectations, fueled by strong household consumption and a growing job market, post the December elections that spread political uncertainty in to the economy.
The caretaker government led by Mariano Rajoy currently forecasts growth of 2.7 percent this year and 2.4 percent in 2017. However, the standing Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said on Thursday that early indicators point to sustained growth going into the second quarter, which should put Spain on track to grow closer to 3 percent in 2016, Bloomberg reported.
The country is gearing up for the second ballot in six months on June 26, with polls indicating that Rajoy’s incumbent PP party is leading the headlines, but still likely to fall short of a majority.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com