Spanish economy slows in second quarter

Spain's economy slowed in the second quarter of 2011 as it weathered a deepening sovereign debt crisis, the central bank said Friday. Growth slowed to 0.2 percent in the second quarter from 0.3 percent in the first three months of the year, it said. "The available information on the second quarter suggests a weakening of activity in an environment marked by the deepening eurozone sovereign debt crisis," the Bank of Spain said. As in the first quarter, exports allowed Spain to show growth despite weak consumer spending and investment at home. The Spanish economy slumped into recession during the second half of 2008 as the global financial meltdown compounded the collapse of a property bubble. It stabilised in 2010. Spain's staggering unemployment rate -- 20.89 percent in the second quarter of 2011 -- has helped to whip up a nationwide "indignant" protest movement against the pain caused by the economic slump. The Bank of Spain forecasts growth of 0.8 percent in 2011 and 1.5 percent in 2012 while the government is tipping a more optimistic rate of 1.3 percent in 2011 and 2.3 percent in 2012.