Spanish GDP predicted to grow by 2.2% according to the Economy Minister

SPANISH Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is predicted to grow by 2.2 per cent this year, 0.1 per cent less than initially predicted according to the country’s Economy Minister.

Nadia Calviño said the revision was due to the government being forced to aim for a faster cutting of Spain’s government spending deficit.

“If we had stuck to our deficit reduction target we would have revised the prediction for GDP upward,” Calviño said.

The government is now aiming to cut the deficit to 1.3 per cent of GDP after previously aiming for 1.8 per cent.

The change came after the conservative Partido Popular (PP), which has an outright majority in the Spanish Senate, threatened to block the budget if deficit reduction targets were relaxed.