Spanish service sector maintained its expansion in March, yet expenses surged significantly and optimism declined

Spain's Service Sector Shows Steady Growth Amid Rising Uncertainty

March saw a robust expansion in Spain's service industry, supported by ongoing increases in new business for companies. Despite this, the pace of new orders slowed to its weakest point in nine months, with many firms attributing this to heightened market and client uncertainty caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

Export sales continued to fall, and business optimism reached its lowest level in two and a half years. Additionally, companies reported that the Middle East war had significantly accelerated input cost inflation, pushing it to a near three-year high. In response, firms raised their output prices.