Portugal's quarterly GDP growth fizzles out after storms
Tweet
Share
E-mail
FILE PHOTO: A view of the city's business and financial districts, which comprise leading banks' and companies' headquarters, from the July 15 Martyrs' Bridge, known as the Bosphorus Bridge, which links the city's Asian and European sides, in Istanbul, Tu
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)
Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!
You May Also Be Interested In
- FOMC minutes from July 28-29th meeting
- India launches rescue operation as bulk carrier sinks off east coast
- Raymond James on Whirlpool Corporation (WHR): 'July Major Appliance Industrial Production Remained Weak'
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
ReutersRelated Entities
Raising PricesSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
