Spain does not need the kind of financial bail-out package which has been offered to Greece, the EU's Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said today, damping down market expectations.
'There is no need to propose financial assistance,' for Madrid, Rehn said as he unveiled the commission's new economic forecasts for 2010 and 2011.
Rehn criticised the fierce market speculation which has put Greece under such pressure and is seen turning its attention to Spain and Portugal where deficit are also running uncomfortably high.
'There's no limit to the speculation,' he complained.
Euro falls under $1.29 as Moody's warns on Portugal
The rumours swirled around the markets yesterday, with many suggesting that Spain was on the point of turning cap in hand to its EU partners or the IMF, provoking a sharp falls on European stock markets.
Meanwhile, Spanish industrial production rose in March for the first time since April 2008, official data showed today, in a sign that Europe's fifth largest economy may have started to emerge from recession.
Industrial output rose by 5.4% in March on a 12-month basis after declining by 1.9% in February, the national statistics institute INE said.
Output of durable goods declined by 2.6%while production of non-durable goods jumped 10.1% and production of semi-finished goods rose by 8.2%.
During the first quarter industrial production was up 0.3% over the same time last year. Industrial production plunged by 15.8% in 2009 compared to the previous year.
