Spain registered a capital outflow of 5.17 billion euros (6.67 billion U.S. dollars) in March after six consecutive months of capital inflow, the Bank of Spain said on Friday.

Although the outflow in March broke the positive trend of the previous six months, the amount of capital leaving Spain is considerably lower than that of a year ago, when it reached 67.46 billion euros.

In March, portfolio investments registered a capital outflow of 14.31 billion euros, mainly from foreigners who withdrew their investments from Spain.

Direct investment experienced a capital outflow of 161 million euros, compared to 1.98 billion euros of capital inflow registered in March 2012 with Spaniards preferring to invest 5.93 billion euros outside Spain and foreigners investing 5.77 billion euros in Spain.

Other investments such as deposits or loans registered capital inflow of 7.45 billion euros in March 2013 compared to the capital outflow of 44.07 billion euros of a year ago.

Although March may be seen as a small step backwards, the first three months of 2013 have seen Spain register a total of 36.02 billion euros of capital entering the country, compared with 97.65 billion euros leaving its borders during the same period of 2012.

Morgan Stanley said at the beginning of this year that Spain is one of the best countries to invest in 2013 and it will be interesting to see if the March figures represent just a blip or whether they reflect a new loss of confidence, amid rumors that Spanish banks may need further EU aid in the coming months. (1 euro = 1.29 U.S. dollars) Endi

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