Spain: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report

The Spanish economy has been resilient to successive shocks, whose effects were mitigated by unprecedented policy support that is now being phased out. The labor market performance has been exceptionally strong, and some of its perennial deficiencies—most notably the large share of temporary workers and high unemployment—have eased. Growth is projected to reach 2.4 percent in 2024, and headline and core inflation are expected to converge close to the ECB’s target before mid-2025. Risks have become more balanced but are still tilted to the downside for growth and the upside for inflation, including predominantly domestic risks (political fragmentation, under-execution of NGEU spending) but also global risks (energy price volatility, geopolitical risks, geo-economic fragmentation).