INE figures confirm an end to the recession

The National Statistics Institute (INE) confirmed on Wednesday the announcement last week by the Bank of Spain that the recession is over, thanks to a positive growth rate of 0.1 percent for the third quarter.

Experts, however, agree that the recovery will be a slow one.

Advance data released by the INE on Wednesday coincided with figures from the Bank of Spain, which said last week that a return to growth has been possible thanks to strong exports.

The INE figures also coincide with the Bank of Spain with regard to third-quarter comparisons with the same period in 2012, which saw growth contract by 1.2 percent.

Longest recession

The Spanish economy left behind nine quarters of shrinking output in the period July-September, marking an end to the longest recession the country has suffered in decades. Previously, Spain had entered its first recession in 15 years in 2008, which lasted until the first quarter of 2010.

Jesús Fernández, an analyst for the Spanish think-tank Funcas, told news agency Efe that emerging from recession would not mean an end to the crisis, given that a long period lies ahead of low growth.

The INE data is provisional, with the official figures not due for release until November 28.