Spanish Economy Growth

(Reuters) – The Spanish economy grew a faster-than-expected 0.8% in the third quarter from the previous three-month period, showing the same pace of expansion, preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute showed on Wednesday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected GDP to grow 0.6% quarter-on-quarter in Spain, whose economy has been by far outperforming the euro zone's as a whole.

On an annual basis, Spain's third-quarter economic output expanded by 3.4%, above the average estimate of 3.0% in the Reuters poll, and accelerating slightly from a revised 3.2% in the preceding quarter.