Exports increase in the first 6 months by 8% compared to the previous and reaches a figure of 118 billion euros. In June alone 20.8 billion euros were exported which was 10.5% more than in May.
http://www.expansion.com/2013/08/22/...377167184.html
http://www.thelocal.es/20130822/expo...-trade-deficit
That's not been the only good news: Tourist numbers in Spain are the highest since 1995
http://www.thelocal.es/20130822/fore...-spain-in-july
Who knows, we may even see a continuation of the 5 consecutive month falls in unemployment!? Let's hope so.

Over the last year the IBEX has done well c 24%. Would have been a good investment!

http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/IBEX:IND

Jon

The rise in tourist numbers is no surprise to anybody who lives on or near the coast, everybody has been saying they haven't seen the place so busy in years. Obviously the bad things that have been happening in some other countries where tourism has been growing in recent years have had some effect there.

I am not sure about the unemployment figures, I think it's inevitable that there will be an increase in September/October as seasonal workers are laid off, there always is whether in bad times or good.

Saw on the news the other day that the "recession is over", due to some miniscule increase in overall GDP in Germany and France (first in quite some time, apparently).

let the good times roll!

And a 1.1% increase in Portugal, which everyone seemed surprised by.

It looks like the civilised West, the US and Europe is finally bouncing back after five years of severe recession. Austerity, quantitative easing and low interest rates was what was needed.

By 2008 we simply got too big for our boots and the whole lot came crashing down. The bankers were partly responsible, aided by some blind politicians and an array of useless economists.

Spain was no different to the rest of Europe, perhaps apart from the ridiculous housing boom.

Spain still has the very real problem of over exposure to Portuguese debt (Spain is a principle lender to Portugal). Portuguese debt is approaching 125% and so for them to survive they will need a haircut on those debts. Where does that leave Spain? The Greeks are also heading for yet another bailout (200bn euros so far?)

However being positive the increase in tourism is welcome. Spain's strong point and one which needed doubling as a priority. The new construction industry!

Europe still has quite a few more hurdles to overcome before breaking out the bubbly. This brief "optimism" alone could very well encourage our fearless leaders to return to unabated waste of money we don't have. We shall see.

Everyone says August has been very busy. I wonder how they get their figures, Is it just bums on seats. Strange that Madrid is way down and actually had around 5.4% less tourists.

If Spain's exports are up why is public debt rising sharply, now over 90% of GDP...are they doing a Gordon Brown and trying to borrow themselves out of a crisis

I'd dread to think what the country would be like if tourism doubled.
It's bad enough now with an unsightly badly planned and often illegal concrete jungle covering the better parts of the coastline.

As for the new construction industry, maybe it would be wise to sell off the million or so empty properties they're already stuck with.
Too much reliance on the building bubble combined with tourism is one of the main reasons Spain is in a bigger mess than everybody else.

The export boom is all well and good but it must be remembered that it is being subsidised by ever decreasing wages and terms of employment causing the standard of living even amongst those fortunate ones still in work to continue to decline.

As regards unemployment I think the jury is still out until the present improvement in figures due to seasonal employment are no longer relevant, though according to the EU think tank the situation next year is expected to worsen.

Wages are declining all across the Western World

In fact, wages have declined more in the UK (5.5% in real terms) over the past 3 years than anywhere else in Europe

Wages have declined by 3% in Spain

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23655605

Sometimes we should recognise when there is some good news, and treat it as good news rather than always trotting out the same negative interpretation of everything

I have always felt that with good governance and hard work Spain has the potential to out-preform the UK.

Even with the financial crisis, Spain still retains a far greater industrial base than the UK does, its agricultural production is much larger than that of Britain and the fact the population density is much lower means that they will never be short of space in the forseeable future, whereas it is quite possible that the UK will be short of space in the next few decades.

Also, Spanish infrastructure is far superior to British infrastructure. The road network is in far better condition and the railway network is also decades ahead of anything the UK has.

Spain's current economic crisis is very sad because the country has so much potential. The Spanish economy still retains a diversity that the UK's economy hasn't had in years. In the UK, we rely almost solely on the banking sector, if that decides to leave London for Zurich, New York or Hong Kong, this country is in deep shit.

And that's not such an unlikely prospect as it may first appear. If the EU enforces a financial tax on EU financial centres, that is the City finished overnight.

You mean like this remark you posted only yesterday ?.......

""By the way, most Spaniards I speak to say that the crisis is just a temporary thing and the economy will be back on track in the next year and two. I guess people need that hope, but I dont see it turning around in the next 10 years, and possibly not in the next 20 years. I am very careful who I share that view with though because nobody likes a killjoy.""

What a difference a day makes.

Nothings changed to make me feel any different. It's good to see the export figures up, but this crisis is a financial crisis and it will take 10-20 years to de-leverage all the debt

By the way, that goes for other countries like the UK too

Opinions are like arseholes eh? Everyone has one....


http://www.theguardian.com/business/...on-imf-warning


http://www.rte.ie/news/business/2013...spain-economy/