The average cost of long-term housing rentals in Spain reached a historic high of EUR15 per square meter per month in April 2026, according to the Idealista portal.
According to analysts, rents have risen by 5.2% over the past year. However, the growth rate has been the most moderate since the summer of 2022, indicating a gradual slowdown in the market following several years of sharp rate increases.
Despite the slowdown, the market remains tight. The main reason is the persistent gap between supply and demand. In major cities, tourist regions, and university centers, demand is driven by local renters, foreign workers, students, digital nomads, and short-term rentals. At the same time, new supply is entering the market slowly, and some landlords prefer tourist rentals over long-term contracts.
For tenants, record-high prices mean housing is becoming even less affordable. The problem is particularly acute in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Málaga, and the Balearic and Canary Islands, where rental demand is driven not only by domestic migration but also by foreigners. According to Idealista, rents in Spain rose to EUR15 per square meter in April, though no longer at the double-digit rates seen in previous years.
The migration factor remains one of the key drivers of the market. According to data from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics, as of January 1, 2025, the largest groups of foreigners in the country were citizens of Morocco—968,999 people—Colombia—676,534—and Romania—609,270. Other major groups include immigrants from Venezuela, Italy, China, Peru, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and other countries.
In 2024, the number of Colombian citizens grew the fastest—by 98,057 people—followed by Venezuelans—by 52,555— and Morocco—by 48,306. At the same time, the number of Ukrainian citizens, according to INE data, decreased by 7,907 people, which may be due to changes in residency status, the relocation of some Ukrainians to other countries, or naturalization.
The influx of foreigners is driving up demand for rentals, particularly in cities with job opportunities, universities, and a developed service sector. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the main groups of new immigrants to Spain were citizens of Colombia, Venezuela, and Morocco.
Investment demand is creating additional pressure on the market. Foreign homebuyers in Spain pay significantly more than locals: in the second half of 2025, non-residents purchased homes at an average of EUR 3,242 per square meter, foreign residents at EUR 1,963, and Spanish citizens at EUR 1,839. This also affects the rental market, as investment purchases are often aimed at renting out the property.
Thus, Spain faces a double challenge: rents have already reached record levels, but a structural supply shortage does not yet allow for a rapid decline in prices. Even a slowdown in annual growth to 5.2% does not signal a market reversal, but rather indicates a shift from sharp price increases to a more stable, though still expensive, level of rents.
Real GDP percentage changes over previous period in 2024-2025
According to Fixygen, Coinbase Global, the operator of the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., reported a net loss in the first quarter of 2026 due to a decline in the value of its digital currency assets.
According to the company’s press release, the net loss for January–March was $394.1 million, or $1.49 per share, compared to a profit of $65.6 million, or $0.24 per share, for the same period the previous year.
The figure includes a $482.4 million decline in the value of the company’s cryptocurrency holdings.
Coinbase’s quarterly revenue fell to $1.41 billion from $2.03 billion a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast revenue of $1.49 billion on average.
The company’s revenue from transaction fees in the past quarter was $755.8 million, compared to a forecast of $805.2 million. Revenue from subscription sales was $583.5 million, instead of the expected $619.3 million.
Coinbase shares fell 4.6% in after-hours trading on Thursday. Since the start of this year, the company’s market capitalization has dropped by nearly 15%, to $52.28 billion.
Ukrnafta and Wärtsilä, with the support of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine and the Naftogaz Group, have launched a collaboration in the field of energy resilience.
During a meeting between First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal and Petteri Orpo, a framework agreement was signed for the supply of complete equipment for modern gas piston power plants between Ukraine’s largest oil producer, JSC Ukrnafta, and the Finnish leader in energy technology manufacturing, Wärtsilä.
“This is one of the strategic projects aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s energy security amid constant Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. The lengthy negotiation process is achieving its goal,” emphasized Serhiy Koretskyi, Chairman of the Board of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine.
The purchase will be financed through preferential loans from the Finnish-Ukrainian Investment Facility (FUIF), guaranteed by the Finnish export credit agency Finnvera.
“The project will provide backup power for the company’s critical units. The surplus of generated electricity will be directed to meet the needs of the population and businesses within the country’s integrated power grid, which has been affected by Russian attacks,” noted Bogdan Kukura, Chairman of the Board of JSC “Ukrnafta.”
Modern, highly flexible gas equipment will enable Ukrnafta to additionally provide balancing services for the electricity market and significantly strengthen energy security in the regions.
JSC “Ukrnafta” is Ukraine’s largest oil production company and operates the country’s largest national network of gas stations—UKRNAFTA. In 2024, the company entered into an asset management agreement with Glusco. In 2025, it finalized a deal with Shell Overseas Investments BV to purchase the Shell network in Ukraine. In total, it operates nearly 700 gas stations.
The company is implementing a comprehensive program to restore operations and modernize the format of the gas stations in its network. Since February 2023, it has been issuing its own fuel vouchers and “NAFTACard” cards, which are sold to legal entities and individuals through Ukrnafta-Postach LLC.
The largest shareholder of “Ukrnafta” is NJSC “Naftogaz of Ukraine,” holding a 50%+1 share stake.
In November 2022, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to transfer to the state the share of corporate rights in the company that belonged to private owners, which is now managed by the Ministry of Defense.
Global spending on information technology (IT) in 2026 could increase by 13.5% and exceed $6.3 trillion, according to a press release from research firm Gartner.
“This forecast highlights the accelerated growth of AI infrastructure and advanced memory chip technologies,” said John-David Lovelock, a leading analyst at Gartner. “Investments in data centers are growing rapidly, which in turn is driving increased demand for high-performance computing. This dynamic creates significant growth opportunities for companies supplying AI-optimized processors and technologies.”
The most significant growth this year is expected to come from data center spending—up 55.8% to $788 million.
“Sustained demand combined with limited supply has led to record price increases for high-speed memory chips,” notes Lovelock. “This surge makes the memory segment a profitable area for chip manufacturers.”
Pivdenny Mining and Processing Plant (Pivdenny GZK, Kryvyi Rih, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) reduced its concentrate output by 45.1% in January–March of this year compared to the same period last year—to 1.546 million tons from 2.819 million tons.
According to materials available to the agency “Interfax-Ukraine,” the volume of commercial production in the first quarter of 2026 at the Southern GOK amounted to 1,546,500 tons of concentrate worth UAH 4,255,486,000, while the volume of sold products—concentrate—was 1,431,000 tons worth UAH 3,865,853,000.
It is noted that PGZK did not export any products during the reporting period.
Meanwhile, the volume of commercial production in the first quarter of 2025 amounted to 2.819 million tons of concentrate worth UAH 6.103340 billion. The volume of products sold: concentrate – 2.852 million tons worth UAH 6.202801 billion.
It is further specified that ore processing plants Nos. 1 and 2 process iron-bearing quartzites, with the iron content in the raw ore being Fe total – 34.70% and Fe magnetic – 27.55%.
In 2023, following the unblocking of the seaports used for the sale of PGZK’s commercial products, the company managed to resume exports of iron ore products to external consumers and, accordingly, increase production volumes.
“As of today, the Russian Federation’s military aggression prevents PGZK from conducting its production and business activities to their full extent; consequently, the level of investment remains significantly lower than in the pre-war period, the implementation of some investment projects has been suspended, and the long-term development program for the enterprise through 2030, which was developed and approved in 2021, has been adjusted to focus on maintaining existing production capacities, maximizing the preservation and extending the service life of existing equipment, and continuously seeking operational improvements to reduce overall operating costs,” the interim report states.
In the first quarter of 2026, the average headcount of full-time employees on the payroll was 4,007.
Pivdenny GOK is one of the leading producers of iron ore concentrate in Ukraine. It is engaged in the extraction and beneficiation of low-grade iron-bearing quartzites to produce iron ore concentrate. The plant’s raw material base consists of quartzites from the Skelevatsky deposit, located in the central part of the Kryvyi Rih iron ore basin.
At the start of the war, PivdenGOK was controlled by the Metinvest Group and Lanebrook Ltd. (formerly a majority shareholder of Evraz Group, which withdrew from the group’s shareholder structure in 2018), which acquired 50% of the shares in the plant from the Privat Group (Dnipro) at the end of 2007.
According to the National Securities and Stock Market Commission (NSSMC) data for the fourth quarter of 2025, Zantest Limited holds 29.8815% of the company’s shares, and Jetere Limited (both based in Cyprus and registered at the same address) holds 59.7630%.
The company’s authorized capital is UAH 535.915 million, and the par value of a share is UAH 0.25.
