Catalonia’s economy to grow 2.5% in 2015, according to Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce

Barcelona (ACN).- Catalan GDP grew by 1.3% in 2014 and will increase by 2.5% in 2015, claims Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce. “The Catalan economy had a very good performance in 2014, even better than that of Spain as whole, and this acceleration will continue during 2015”, stated the President of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Miquel Valls, on Wednesday. The day before, the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, announced a revised economic forecast for 2015 and stated that Spain’s economic would grow by 2.4% in 2015. Valls highlighted that all the macroeconomic indicators show positive figures for the first time in the last 7 years, which makes him think that Catalonia’s “recovery from the crisis is a fact”. The recovery of the industrial sector, the strength of exports, the fact that the construction sector is no longer declining and the creation of jobs for the first time since 2007 are the main factors behind those predictions, which also benefit from the Euro’s depreciation, the fall in oil prices and the low interest rates. The recovery of retail sales and the record figures of Catalonia’s tourism sector (where foreign visitors increased their expenditure by 6.7% in 2014) also contribute to this positive trend.

Catalonia’s gross domestic product grew by 1.3% in 2014 thanks to the acceleration registered in the fourth quarter of the year, which saw a 1.8% annual growth and a 0.6% increase in quarterly terms, according to the quarterly Report on the Economic Situation published on Wednesday by Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce. Valls also highlighted that these calculations show a better situation than that projected by the Catalan Government, according to which Catalonia’s economy grew by 1.5% in annual terms in the October-December period and by 0.4% in quarterly terms.

Compared to the Spanish economy, Catalonia’s GDP grew by 1.8% during the fourth quarter of the year instead of 2%, which is Spain’s rate calculated by the Spanish Statistics Institute. However, taking into account 2014 in its entirety, Catalonia registers better quarterly figures and ends up posting a better rate for the year overall.

In addition, Catalonia also shows better figures than Spain as a whole for 2015, stated the Director of the Chamber of Commerce’s Studies Department, Joan Ramon Rovira. According to this organisation, Catalonia’s economy will grow by 2.5% during 2015, with a 2% annual rate posted in the first quarter of the year and a 2.3% growth during the second quarter, when compared to the same period from the previous year.