The Conference Board's leading economic index for Spain rose 1.2% in June,the most recent month for which data are available. It was the third consecutive month the index, which now stands at 140.7 (1990=100), had increased.
Adjusted for inflation, Spain's GDP increased at a 3.6% average annual rate during the first six months of this year -- including a 3.7% rate in the April through June quarter.
"The continued strength in the leading index in recent months suggests that the strong economic growth reported in the first half of 2005 is likely to continue in the near term," says the Conference Board, a New York-based business research group.
