“Although Metro has lost less money than free Spanish newspapers, the heightening of the economic crisis… has led to untenable losses,” Metro International CEO Per Mikael Jensen said in a statement.
Jensen added that Metro would concentrate on more lucrative markets and stressed that there was “intense competition” in Spain.
Metro is the fifth most read newspaper in Spain with 1.8 million readers.
Its closure will mean a loss of €5 to 6 million ($6.5 to 7.7 million) for the Swedish group which invested €25.5 million into its Spanish subsidiary.
Metro, which is published in 150 cities in 19 countries around the globe, is the world’s second largest newspaper in terms of distribution, claiming to reach 17 million readers a day.