Spain’s expectations
While 2022 proved to be a year of atypical and complex developments, Spanish cement association OFICEMEN sees upside potential for the domestic cement sector in 2023. However, a snap parliamentary election with no clear majority has made for an uncertain way forward. By OFICEMEN, Spain.
Although the Spanish cement industry continues to face uncertainty both in terms of domestic and export sales,
it remains confident that it can address future challenges successfully (© OFICEMEN)
The Spanish economy is in an election year, experiencing slightly better growth than expected a few months ago, notable job creation and a decline in inflation. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has upwardly revised the country’s GDP growth forecast for 2023 to 2.1 per cent, despite the increase in interest rates and the lingering effects of the war in Ukraine. Even though the 2024 GDP growth forecast has been reduced to 1.9 per cent, Spain is expected to remain the leading European economy in terms of growth, well above the eurozone’s projected 1.5 per cent advance. The IMF also expects the country’s rate of inflation to fall by nearly 50 per cent this year to an average 4.3 per cent, and decline further to 3.2 per cent in 2024 (see Figure 1).
