Spain service sector growth sustained at a solid pace in February

According to the report from IHS Markit, Spain's service sector continued to expand at a solid rate during February, with growth supported by another marked gain in levels of incoming new business.

The headline Business Activity Index was little changed during February, recording a level of 54.5, compared to 54.7 during January. Growth has now been recorded in each month since November 2013, with the latest increase again remaining comfortably higher than the survey's historical average.

Supporting the latest expansion was a robust increase in levels of new business. Companies reported that market demand had increased, and they had experienced success in securing new clients.

Latest data showed jobs were added for a fifty-third consecutive survey period, and at a rate of growth that remained well above the survey average. Input prices rose to the greatest degree since September 2008. There were also reports of higher energy/fuel bills, plus suppliers raising their prices. With pressure on margins building, service sector companies chose to increase their own charges in February. Whilst solid, and marking a tenth successive monthly increase, the degree to which charges rose remained noticeably slower than that of input prices. Finally, business confidence remained broadly steady in February at a level just below the survey average. Optimism was linked to the hoped launch of new services, positive forecasts for market demand and sales, plus the planned enhancement of marketing strategies.