-
Strong start to year for Spanish service sector
Growth of the Spanish service sector improved during January amid reports of a strengthening in market conditions and higher sales. Jobs growth also picked up, accelerating to its best level since May 2023 as firms sought to (broadly unsuccessfully) keep on top of their burgeoning workloads. Rising confidence in the future was also signalled, but price pressures intensified: both input and output prices increased at the start of 2024 and to greater degrees than seen at the end of last year. The headline HCOB Spain Services PMI® Business Activity Index posted above the crucial 50.0 no-change mark in January. This ... (full story)