Off the wire
• Factbox: China's 24 solar terms are part of UNESCO heritage  • Hebei in north China issues red alert for smog  • Nairobi bourse turnover up as market rebounds  • 1st LD Writethru: Rocket attack rocks Afghan capital  • FLASH: OPEC ANNOUNCES MEMBER STATES AGREE ON 1.2 MILLION BARRELS A DAY OIL OUTPUT CUT  • Portugal, Spain should work together to consolidate economic recovery: Spanish king  • Belgium's beer culture added to UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list  • Sudan, China agree to elevate ties to strategic level  • UN chief calls for peaceful election in Ghana  • EU adopts strategy on cooperative, connected and automated mobility  
You are here: 　 Home

Portugal's economic growth reaches 1.6 pct year-on-year in Q3

Xinhua, December 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Portuguese economy grew 1.6 percent in the third quarter this year compared to the corresponding period of 2015, and 0.8 percent compared to the previous quarter, the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics revealed Wednesday.

The more intense gross domestic product (GDP) growth reflected a "rise in net external demand, which went from 0.1 percentage points in the second quarter to 0.7 percentage points as a result of a sharper acceleration in exports of goods and services compared to imports of goods and services," according to the statistics institute.

The state budget for 2017 was passed in parliament on Tuesday, with the prime minister saying the country was ready for a "confidence boost" next year.

However, the Portuguese economy is expected to grow by just 0.9 percent this year, according to the European Commission's autumn forecasts, which point to fragile and vulnerable investment.

While the economy grew in the third quarter, the government cut its economic outlook when it presented its budget for next year. The country is still dealing with bad loans at banks and the country's debt remains high, at around 129 percent of GDP.

Portugal exited a 78-billion-euro (82.44 billion U.S. dollar) bailout program in 2014, which it signed with international lenders in 2011 when the country was on the verge of bankruptcy.

The Socialist government led by Antonio Costa has promised to reverse austerity while complying with EU fiscal rules. The unemployment rate in the third quarter fell to 10.5 percent. Endit