Spain’s service sector experienced slower, but still solid, expansion of activity in August. Growth was underpinned by a positive demand environment, with new business volumes again rising markedly on a monthly basis. Firms also raised their selling prices to the greatest degree in well over a year as part of ongoing efforts to protect margins in the face of increased operating expenses. Capacity pressures meanwhile intensified with backlogs of work increasing to a greater degree. Firms responded by bolstering employment again as confidence in the outlook improved to its highest level in four months. The headline ... (full story)