UPDATE 1-Spain's economy grows less than forecast in Q4

Spain's economy expanded by 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter, final official data showed on Friday, below forecasts as a weakening global economy weighed on exports and domestic demand slowed slightly from a quarter earlier.

Spain's gross domestic product expanded 2.3 percent in the October to December period from a year earlier, also below forecasts and a preliminary figure of 2.4 percent, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said. That was the lowest annual growth figure recorded since the fourth quarter 2014, INE figures showed.

Spain's economy has mostly resisted a slowdown registered across Europe's larger economies as private consumption and public spending helped offset lagging exports. The annual figure saw a positive contribution from domestic demand of 2.5 percentage points but external demand cut that by 0.2 percentage points, INE said.

In 2018, the Spanish economy expanded by 2.6 percent from a year earlier, the lowest annual growth since 2014 and compared with 3.0 percent in 2017. The Bank of Spain has predicted growth of 0.6 percent quarter on quarter in the January to March period, though forecast a slowdown through this year to end 2019 with annual growth of 2.2 percent.

INE also revised the figures for the third quarter, cutting the quarterly growth to 0.5 percent, from 0.6 percent recorded previously, and raising the annual growth to 2.5 percent from a previously reported 2.4 percent. (Joao Manuel Mauricio in Gdynia; Editing by Paul Day and Alison Williams)