Central bank: Spain economy could grow 1.4% in 2014

Spain's recovering economy could grow by up to 1.4 percent this year, the country's central bank said on Tuesday in a forecast that exceeds the government's estimates.
The Bank of Spain forecast in a monthly report that output could grow by 0.6 percent in the final quarter of this year.
"With that end to the year, gross domestic product would increase by 1.4 percent overall in 2014" compared to 2013, it said.
Spain's conservative government is forecasting a 1.3-percent rise this year, following a 1.2 contraction in 2013.
After emerging from recession, Spain's domestic demand is now contributing to a recovery despite weak external demand particularly in the struggling eurozone, the bank said.
It forecast the recovery in the eurozone's fourth-biggest economy would continue in 2015 with growth of about two percent, in line with the government's estimate.
Better credit conditions, a depreciation of the euro and lower oil prices could help compensate for the weakening of the export market in 2015, it said.
Spain's unemployment rate is still extremely high at around 24 percent but the central bank said hiring would pick up in 2015 in manufacturing and the hard-hit building sector.