Bank of spain forecasts contraction of 1.5pc in 2012

Spain's central bank on Monday forecast that the country, which is struggling to slash its deficit and debt, will fall back into recession this year with a contraction of 1.5 percent.

The Bank of Spain said however it expects Spain's economy to make a modest rebound in 2013 with growth in gross domestic product (GDP) of 0.2 percent.

It added that it estimates the economy to have grown by 0.7 percent in 2011.

"In 2011 the modest recovery which the Spanish economy began a year earlier weakened as the eurozone sovereign debt crisis extended to a greater number of countries and financial market tensions strengthened," it said in a report.

Source: Google.com