MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s economy could shrink by 16% to 21.8% in the second quarter against the previous quarter due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bank of Spain said on Monday as it charted various economic scenarios.
The central bank sees the economy starting to recover in the second part of the year, with GDP likely contracting by 9 to 11.6% overall this year, which is a more optimistic scenario than its latest forecast of a 9.5-12.4% contraction.
The Spanish economy would then rebound in 2021.
In the first quarter, the Spanish economy shrank 5.2%.
(Reporting By Jess Aguado and Emma Pinedo; Editing by Ingrid Melander)
