Spain's public debt tops 1.6 trillion euros: Bank of Spain

MADRID, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Spain's public debt exceeded 1.6 trillion euros (1.7 trillion U.S. dollars) in February, according to data published by the Bank of Spain on Monday.

The Bank confirmed an increase of 1.2 percent in January's debt, marking a 5.4-percent increase over the 12 months.

The increase is mainly due to higher expenses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, price increases, among others,