MADRID – Spain’s economy grew by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter, a slight slowdown from earlier in the year but still one of the fastest rates in the European Union.
The National Statistics Institute said Friday the figure was down from the 0.8 per cent rate in each of the previous three quarters. Year-on-year, the economy grew by 3.2 per cent, way above the EU average.
The data came a day before acting conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was expected to get the go-ahead from Parliament to form a new government and end a 10-month political impasse following two inconclusive elections.
Rajoy made the economy’s recovery following a six-year recession that ended in 2013 the chief object of his 2011-2015 government.
