More than offsetting a three-tenths percent decline in August, the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators for Spain increased four-tenths of a percentage point in September, the most recent month for which data are available. The index now stands at 140.3 (1990=100).
Adjusted for inflation, Spain's GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.2% during the third quarter of this year, a bit below the 3.6% average for the first half of the year but within the 2.5% to 3.5% range of the past two years. "The behavior of the leading index in recent months suggests that moderate economic growth is likely to continue in the near term," says the Conference Board, a New York-based business research group.
