Brussels, 27/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 27 March 2013, the Spanish government announced that the country's public deficit would be 6.98% in 2012 rather than the previously forecast 6.7%. The new figure does not include the cost of bailing out the banks (loans to the Spanish state of €40 billion from the European Stability Mechanism, more than 3% of GDP).
Spanish secretary of state at the treasury Marta Fernandez Curras said that the change in the forecast was due to changes in the accounting methodology used by the EU's statistical office, Eurostat, which on Wednesday 24 April will be publishing the official budget figures for EU member states for 2012.
On Tuesday, the Bank of Spain cut its growth forecasts considerably for 2013 to a recession of 1.5% (following contraction by 1.4% in 2012). In its Winter Economic Forecasts, the European Commission expects Spain's economy to shrink by 1.4% (see EUROPE 10792). Officially, the Spanish government expects to see the economy shrink by 0.5% of GDP this year. (MB/transl.fl)