The head of the OECD today said the economies of Spain and Portugal's were not comparable to that of Greece as the Spanish stockmarket shed more than 3% amid fears of downgrades to the nation's credit rating.
Comparisons between Greece on the one hand and Spain and Portugal on the other 'do not reflect reality,' Angel Gurria, Secretary General for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, said.
'Spain has a debt-to-GDP ratio about half that of Greece more or less, so obviously it is a completely different situation. Spain had four or five years of surpluses before the crisis,' he said. Greece's debt-to-gross domestic product ratio is 115%, compared to just 53.2% in Spain.
'I think that we should be very careful and very responsible in order to avoid comparisons that don't apply,' Gurria said.
Standard & Poor's last week lowered Spain's long-term sovereign credit rating to AA from AA+ on prospects that its recession could further weaken public finances.
European dealers said that 'a rumour was circulating in markets that Spain would need €280 billion' and could ask for them from the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese parliament is expected to approve this week a first set of austerity measures aimed at cutting the public deficit from 9.4% in 2009 to 8.3% of gross domestic product this year.
