Spanish public debt reaches 98.1 pct of GDP in 2014

Spanish public debt stood at 1.033 trillion euros (1.144 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2014, representing 98.1 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), according to advanced data published by the Bank of Spain on Tuesday.

Debt rose by 10.884 billion euros in December, marking the second consecutive month of rises after the figure fell in October. On a year-on-year basis, Spanish public debt rose by 67.777 billion euros, 7 percent more than a year earlier.

Spanish public debt has not stopped rising on a year-on-year basis since 2008, when the housing bubble burst in the country and triggered a financial crisis. The debt stood at 436.984 billion euros that year and surpassed 1 trillion euros in 2014.

The figure provided by the Bank of Spain on Tuesday surpasses the Spanish government predictions for 2014, which stood at 97.6 percent. (1 euro = 1.14 U.S. dollars) Endit