Business sentiment in Spain showed modest signs of improvement in September 2025, with the composite index rising to 53.8, according to the latest S&P Global Purchasing Managers Index (PMI).
As the index noted, the increase was largely driven by a rebound in the services sector – the services PMI rose to 54.3 from 53.2 in August – while manufacturing activity slowed (to 51.5 in September from 54.3 in August), reversing the previous month’s performance.
The growth in services activity was achieved despite purchasing managers indicating a softening in tourism-related activity, the data showed.
Signs of ‘solid momentum’
Commenting on the data, ING economist Ruben Dewitte said, “Spain’s economic data continues to point to solid momentum at the close of the third quarter. This momentum is also supported by an upward revision of second-quarter GDP growth from 0.7% to 0.8% quarter-on-quarter, even though this revision revealed that second-quarter growth was more heavily driven by inventory restocking than initially thought.
“Looking ahead, the economic growth outlook remains positive with signs of growth normalisation, with a growth rate on track to reach 2.7% year-on-year in 2025.”
Pricing patterns
In terms of pricing, purchasing managers reported selling prices at their lowest pace in four months in September 2025, with manufacturing output prices falling for the first time in three months.
“This evolution is not yet reflected in headline numbers, though, as inflation increased to 2.9% in September, up from 2.7% in August, mainly driven by the base effect,” Dewitte added. “The monthly variation was -0.4%, marking the third month with a monthly price change not in positive territory and providing indications of a downward trend.
“We expect this downward trend to start being reflected in headline inflation in the coming months, especially as base effects are starting to fade. Underlying inflation, for its part, already edged down to 2.3% in September.” Read more here and here.
