Spain's Economy Grew 0.7% in 4Q, Preliminary Data Show

Spain's economy likely expanded by 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with the previous quarter, putting the eurozone's fourth-largest economy on track to report an annual growth rate of 3.1%, the country's national statistics agency said in preliminary data released Tuesday.

That quarterly rate, if confirmed, is a slight slowdown from the 0.8% rate of expansion in the third quarter. The fourth-quarter rate is also slower than the real-time estimate of a 0.77% growth rate published by Spain's fiscal watchdog, a closely-watched figure.

Economists expect Spain' growth rate to slow this year.

Spain's economy began to grow in 2013 after years of recession and is now expanding faster than most major eurozone countries.

Write to Jeannette Neumann at Jeannette.Neumann@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 30, 2018 03:27 ET (08:27 GMT)