Portugal's quarterly GDP growth fizzles out after storms 

LISBON, April 30 (Reuters) - ‌Portugal's economy stagnated ​in ​the first quarter compared to the previous three-month period, when it expanded 0.9%, official ‌data showed on Thursday, after severe storms and ⁠floods in January and February hit the export-heavy central region.

The ‌National Statistics Institute (INE) said in ‌a statement that the contribution of net external demand to the quarter-on-quarter growth turned negative as imports ​grew more strongly than exports.

By contrast, the contribution of domestic demand turned positive, with a "marked acceleration ⁠in investment", benefiting from EU funds, even as private consumption slowed.

INE said ​in its flash estimate that gross domestic product still rose 2.3% in the first quarter ​from the same period a ‌year earlier. In the fourth quarter, GDP grew 1.9% year-on-year.

Paulo Rosa, senior economist at ⁠Banco Carregosa, said the data showed that although Portugal's economy remains resilient compared with a year earlier, reflecting the positive ⁠momentum of 2025, "it lost momentum at the start of 2026, ​pointing to a slowdown" due to the storms and energy price hikes amid the Iran war.

In March, the Bank of Portugal ‌revised down its 2026 growth forecast to 1.8% from 2.3% in December, a projection ‌the government has so far maintained. The economy grew ⁠by 1.9% last year.

Rosa ‌sees the economy ​growing 1.8% to 1.9% this year.

(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves; editing by Andrei Khalip and Ros ‌Russell)

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