Spanish business organization revises up 2016 economic growth forecast

The Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE) on Tuesday revised up its 2016 economic forecast for the Spanish economy from 2.9 percent to 3.1 percent.

The CEOE, which published its quarterly report on the Spanish economy, attributed this variation to a better performance of the economy in the first semester of the year. However, it kept the 2017 forecast at a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.3 percent.

The CEOE said that in 2017, the country's economic growth would slow down due to a reduced effect of several factors that had boosted the economy in 2016, such as low interest rates, the negative inflation rate, or fiscal reform.

It warned about the impact of Brexit on the economy, economic policies to reduce the deficit target (4.6 percent in 2016 and 3.1 percent in 2017) and political uncertainty, as Spain still has no government.

Meanwhile, it predicted the country's unemployment rate would fall to 19.6 percent in 2016 and to 17.8 percent in 2017, although job creation would slow down in 2016. Endit