BANK of Spain officials calculate that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2016 – a favourable result that may help soften the blow to the EU's finances following the 'Brexit' vote.
Although a slight slowing-down – by 0.1% - on the first quarter, the nation's main financial centre believes these figures still show 'robust growth in activity', 'improved financial conditions' and 'favourable evolution in the job market'.
The Bank of Spain considers it 'very premature' to analyse whether the financial market crash across the globe on the morning after the Brexit vote is a sign of how it will pan out over the medium and longer term, or whether it was a panicked reaction.
In the meantime, however, rising investment in bricks and mortar in Spain by foreign buyers is thought to have helped keep the GDP up.
According to the Central European Bank (BCE) chairman, Mario Draghi, the European Union could see its own GDP drop by 0.5% in the immediate aftermath of the UK's decision to leave.
This is likely to occur steadily over the next three years, especially if investor confidence in the EU falls amid fears it will become 'ungovernable' and weaker without its third-largest economy – hence Draghi has urged leaders of the remaining EU-27 to 'pull together' and show a united front.
The BCE is ready to seek price stability and to cooperate with other central banks, and Draghi has called for EU heads of State to 'deal with vulnerabilities in their banking sectors' – undefined, largely, but said to relate to risks associated with existing credit – whilst ensuring they set State budgets which 'favoured growth as much as possible'.
Meanwhile, the BCE predicts a far greater fall in GDP for the UK over the same period of time.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com