Spain revises up growth forecast for 2014–15

Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said the eurozone's fourth-largest economy would expand by an average of 1.5 percent in 2014 and 2015.

The government's official forecast is for growth of 1.0 percent in 2014 and 1.5 percent in 2015.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) growth forecasts for the same years are 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent.

But the IMF recently warned deflation posed a serious threat to that growth.

Consumer prices are continuing to slide in Spain. The national statistics institute, the INE, put this year-on-year fall at 0.2 percent in March.

That was the steepest annual drop since 2009, the Financial Times pointed out. 

More to follow.