As regards national demand, a moderate slowdown in private consumption may be expected, against the backdrop of smaller increases in employment, following several years of strong growth as a result of pent-up demand during the crisis. Investment in housing will continue to grow notably, boosted by job creation and the availability of credit under favourable conditions. Also, business investment will remain robust, in line with the expected course of final demand, against a background of most notable headway in the ongoing restructuring of corporate balance sheets and of persisting easy financial conditions. Turning to external demand, the cumulative gains in competitiveness that I referred to and the sound outlook for the international economy as a whole and, in particular, for the euro area, are expected to continue making for a dynamic Spanish export performance. Risks This predominantly favourable scenario is subject to various sources of risk. For example, developments on global financial markets. In February we saw how the high valuations attained by certain financial assets can give rise to bouts of price corrections and notable rises in volatility. Any future intensification of these episodes, which to date have originated in US markets, might have adverse consequences for economic activity and for financial stability. 3  Furthermore, it is complicated to anticipate how Brexit, and its consequences in terms of trade in goods and services or in movements of people and capital, will unfold. But, in any event, protracted uncertainty over the final agreement intensifies the risks of an adverse impact on activity.
Haga clic aquí para escribir texto. 01.03.2018  Developments in the economic situation Asociación Española de Directivos, Santa Cruz de Tenerife Luis M. Linde Governor  Introduction Let me begin by thanking the Tenerife Asociación Española de Directivos for their kind invitation to me to join you today. The European environment I shall devote my address to the current situation of the Spanish economy. I will begin by highlighting the favourable cyclical juncture at which the euro area – the economic environment closest to us – stands. The upturn in which the euro area economy is immersed may be classified as robust and dynamic, and extensive to all productive sectors and countries. The euro area economy began to show signs of strength in the closing months of 2016, and these stepped up in the second half of last year. As a result, GDP at the close of 2017 was growing at 2.7%, a rate not seen since the start of monetary union and one significantly above what was expected a year earlier. These figures comfortably exceed the potential GDP growth estimates for the area as a whole and thus contribute to erasing the negative output gap generated by the crisis. One of the characteristics of the current expansionary phase is its intensity in terms of job creation, meaning that the euro area as a whole has now exceeded pre-crisis occupation levels. Wage restraint and the reforms carried out in some countries have been conducive to the vigorous response by employment to economic growth.