There were further signs of improvement in the Spanish service sector during November, with rates of growth in activity and new business edging higher during the month and optimism improving. A faster rise in employment was also recorded. Meanwhile, companies increased their output prices only marginally, in spite of a further solid increase in input costs.

The headline seasonally adjusted Business Activity Index posted 55.1 in November, up slightly from 54.6 in October and thereby signalling an acceleration in the rate of expansion during the month. The latest increase was the thirty-seventh in as many months and the sharpest since August.