{"title":"Developments in Spanish public debt in 2023","authors":"Blanca García-Moral, M.ª Isabel Laporta-Corbera","doi":"10.53479/36855","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53479/36855","url":null,"abstract":"Rationale\u0000 This article analyses Spanish general government debt in 2023 based on the statistics prepared and published by the Banco de España and drawing comparisons with other euro area countries.\u0000 Takeaways\u0000 •In 2023 Spain’s public debt-GDP-ratio fell by 3.9 percentage points (pp) to 107.7%.\u0000 •The central government remained the most indebted sub-sector, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 98.1%.\u0000 •The debt ratio for the euro area overall stood at 88.6% of GDP, down by 2.2 pp on 2022.","PeriodicalId":505011,"journal":{"name":"Economic Bulletin","volume":"80 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141664640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Quarterly report and macroeconomic projections for the Spanish economy. June 2024","authors":"","doi":"10.53479/36732","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53479/36732","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":505011,"journal":{"name":"Economic Bulletin","volume":" 32","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141365103","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Enrique Esteban García-Escudero, Luna Azahara Romo González
{"title":"Why a central bank’s bottom line doesn’t matter (that much)","authors":"Enrique Esteban García-Escudero, Luna Azahara Romo González","doi":"10.53479/36255","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53479/36255","url":null,"abstract":"Rationale\u0000 Central banks in some developed countries have started to record, or will soon record, losses. These losses are due to the structural changes in their balance sheets after the exceptional measures adopted during the economic crises of recent years, which were necessary to maintain price stability. This article explains why these losses are expected to be temporary and why central banks can continue to perform their functions and deliver on their mandate even when incurring losses.\u0000 Takeaways\u0000 •A central bank’s aim is not to maximise profits, but instead to use monetary policy to achieve price stability.\u0000 •Central banks cannot be insolvent as they issue the currency (base money) with which they continue to cover their operating expenses and meet their present and future payment obligations.\u0000 •There are numerous examples of central banks that have continued to deliver on their mandates even when incurring losses. In these cases, a robust legal framework that protects central banks’ autonomy is key.","PeriodicalId":505011,"journal":{"name":"Economic Bulletin","volume":"93 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140225295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Banco de España Business Activity Survey: 2024 Q1","authors":"Alejandro Fernández Cerezo, Mario Izquierdo","doi":"10.53479/36213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53479/36213","url":null,"abstract":"Rationale\u0000 The Banco de España Business Activity Survey (EBAE) provides highly valuable, real-time information on a broad sample of Spanish firms’ turnover, employment, costs and prices. This is particularly helpful for diagnosing current economic developments.\u0000 Takeaways\u0000 •Firms perceived a decline in their turnover in 2024 Q1, albeit with considerable cross-sector heterogeneity.\u0000 •Overall, the results show that investment activity has performed worse in the first quarter of the year compared both with the preceding quarter and with what firms expected for this quarter three months ago.\u0000 •Business activity continues to be shaped by uncertainty over economic policy (which remains the main conditioning factor) and by a growing concern over labour shortages (associated with greater expected rises in labour costs), and also appears to have felt the impact of the recent geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea.","PeriodicalId":505011,"journal":{"name":"Economic Bulletin","volume":"3 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140239495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Spanish and euro area households’ response to rising prices","authors":"Carmen Martínez Carrascal","doi":"10.53479/36134","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53479/36134","url":null,"abstract":"Rationale\u0000 Faced with the recent inflationary episode, households have employed different strategies to adjust their consumption, saving and labour supply decisions in response to higher prices. This article discusses what those strategies have been and how they have varied based on household characteristics.\u0000 Takeaways\u0000 •The strategies most widely used by households to cope with the price increases, both in Spain and in the euro area, were shopping around for better alternatives (e.g. offers) and reducing their saving and spending levels.\u0000 •Spanish households have resorted to credit and increased their labour supply (by taking a second job or working longer hours) to cushion the impact of higher prices on consumption more than their euro area counterparts. This is especially true among households with low liquidity buffers.\u0000 •Young people, women, people with a lower educational level and those living in rented housing have showed a greater propensity to work more hours to cope with inflation.","PeriodicalId":505011,"journal":{"name":"Economic Bulletin","volume":"20 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140247461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The inflationary spike in Spain between 2021 and 2023: evidence from micro data","authors":"Eduardo Gutiérrez Chacón, Pau Roldan Blanco","doi":"10.53479/36135","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53479/36135","url":null,"abstract":"Rationale\u0000 Analysis of the price micro data used to construct the consumer price index (CPI) allows us to understand how much of the inflationary spike observed in Spain between 2021 and 2023 was attributable to changes in the number of outlets adjusting prices (the “adjustment frequency”), rather than to changes in the size of such price adjustments.\u0000 Takeaways\u0000 •The rise in the year-on-year growth rate of the CPI in 2021-2023 was marked by notable increases in the number of outlets that raised their prices from one month to the next, with the size of such price adjustments remaining practically constant.\u0000 •There is evidence of asymmetries in the upward and downward price adjustments made by outlets: given the same gap between a posted price and the estimated optimal price, the number of outlets making an upward price adjustment towards the optimal price exceeds those outlets making equivalent downward adjustments. This asymmetry has become more marked during the recent inflationary period.","PeriodicalId":505011,"journal":{"name":"Economic Bulletin","volume":"172 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140418002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of monetary policy normalisation on secured money markets","authors":"Claudio Vela, Alicia Aguilar","doi":"10.53479/36012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53479/36012","url":null,"abstract":"Rationale\u0000 This article offers an empirical analysis of the main factors which explain the variations in the repo-deposit facility rate (DFR) spread in the euro area, focusing on the impact of monetary policy normalisation. The findings suggest that a notable rise in interest rate expectations was the main factor behind the widening of the spread in 2022. In 2023 the slowdown in the pace of interest rate hike expectations and the Eurosystem’s balance sheet reduction returned the spread to the levels prior to the start of the policy rate hiking cycle.\u0000 Takeaways\u0000 •The widening of the repo-DFR spread in 2022 arose mainly from interest rate hike expectations.\u0000 •Other conjunctural factors such as monetary policy uncertainty and the demand for short-term assets also contributed to the widening of the spread.\u0000 •The temporary tensions seen in this market in 2022 eased in 2023 with lower expectations of interest rate hikes.","PeriodicalId":505011,"journal":{"name":"Economic Bulletin","volume":"45 9","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139864077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of monetary policy normalisation on secured money markets","authors":"Claudio Vela, Alicia Aguilar","doi":"10.53479/36012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53479/36012","url":null,"abstract":"Rationale\u0000 This article offers an empirical analysis of the main factors which explain the variations in the repo-deposit facility rate (DFR) spread in the euro area, focusing on the impact of monetary policy normalisation. The findings suggest that a notable rise in interest rate expectations was the main factor behind the widening of the spread in 2022. In 2023 the slowdown in the pace of interest rate hike expectations and the Eurosystem’s balance sheet reduction returned the spread to the levels prior to the start of the policy rate hiking cycle.\u0000 Takeaways\u0000 •The widening of the repo-DFR spread in 2022 arose mainly from interest rate hike expectations.\u0000 •Other conjunctural factors such as monetary policy uncertainty and the demand for short-term assets also contributed to the widening of the spread.\u0000 •The temporary tensions seen in this market in 2022 eased in 2023 with lower expectations of interest rate hikes.","PeriodicalId":505011,"journal":{"name":"Economic Bulletin","volume":"4 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139804004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent developments in the oil market","authors":"Irma Alonso-Álvarez","doi":"10.53479/35995","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53479/35995","url":null,"abstract":"Rationale\u0000 Oil prices have fluctuated considerably over the past year. Against this background, it is worth analysing the factors behind recent oil price developments, as well as some key aspects for assessing the outlook for the near future.\u0000 Takeaways\u0000 •Following the downward trend seen in the second half of 2022, the price of oil hovered around $80 abarrel throughout 2023, albeit with notable fluctuations.\u0000 •The Q3 uptick in oil prices can essentially be attributed to supply-side factors, such as the OPEC+production cuts, while lacklustre demand appears to lie behind the moderation observed during therest of the year.\u0000 •Looking ahead, the potential for geopolitical tensions to push up oil prices could be offset, at leastpartially, by the release of inventories, the deployment of spare capacity and the response from otherproducers, such as the United States, although shale oil production is increasing more slowly than inthe pre-pandemic period.","PeriodicalId":505011,"journal":{"name":"Economic Bulletin","volume":"311 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139832086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent developments in the oil market","authors":"Irma Alonso-Álvarez","doi":"10.53479/35995","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.53479/35995","url":null,"abstract":"Rationale\u0000 Oil prices have fluctuated considerably over the past year. Against this background, it is worth analysing the factors behind recent oil price developments, as well as some key aspects for assessing the outlook for the near future.\u0000 Takeaways\u0000 •Following the downward trend seen in the second half of 2022, the price of oil hovered around $80 abarrel throughout 2023, albeit with notable fluctuations.\u0000 •The Q3 uptick in oil prices can essentially be attributed to supply-side factors, such as the OPEC+production cuts, while lacklustre demand appears to lie behind the moderation observed during therest of the year.\u0000 •Looking ahead, the potential for geopolitical tensions to push up oil prices could be offset, at leastpartially, by the release of inventories, the deployment of spare capacity and the response from otherproducers, such as the United States, although shale oil production is increasing more slowly than inthe pre-pandemic period.","PeriodicalId":505011,"journal":{"name":"Economic Bulletin","volume":"2 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139891754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}