Spain may see another economic contraction in the second quarter of this year, Economy Minister Luis De Guindos reportedly said Monday.
The gross domestic product shrank 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter, pushing the economy into a technical recession after 0.3 percent slump in economic activity in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The minister also denied that Spain needs any kind of external aid for its banking sector. Last week, Moody's downgraded 16 Spanish banks, citing rising loan defaults and restricted funding access.
Furthermore, the Bank of Spain said Friday that bad loan ratio for Spanish banks increased to about 8.37 percent in March from 8.3 percent in February.
Spain has revised its budget deficit for 2011 to 8.9 percent of gross domestic product from 8.5 percent initially estimated.
Source: RTT News