ECB’s Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez, speaking before the Spanish Senate Committee in Madrid, has said the current financial crisis has substantially eased price tensions with the outlook for Spanish inflation having improved significantly. Ordonez warned that a drastic fall in housing demand is being seen and subsequent job losses will slow consumption levels and hamper the economy. The official also warned that the country will come up short of the governments’ 2009 growth forecasts and that the budget deficit will come close to the ceiling of 3% of GDP. On a slightly brighter note, Ordonez opined that Spanish banks are proving to be more robust than banks elsewhere.