Portugal’s economy bags €996M surplus

Portugal achieved an overseas trade surplus of nearly €1Bn for the first quarter of 2023.

It compared extremely favourably to the commercial trade deficit of €1.5Bn like-for-like in 2022 according to the latest statistics released by the Bank of Portugal on Monday.
In March 2023, the current and capital balance stood at €515 million which corresponded to an increase of €1.245Bn on the same month in 2022 states the central bank on the balance of payments statistics.
For this period “the balance for goods and services enjoyed a surplus of €164 million. This amount represents an increase of €1Bn like-for-like”.
On the other hand, an increase in the surplus account for services of €688 million brought the total to €1.986Bn.
Exports and imports of services increased 31.1% and 14% respectively on March 2022, but the increase in exports was largely down to tourism and flights, with exports growing like-for-like by 36.1%. Travel and tourism exports totalled €1.6Bn; the highest ever amount for a month of March.
The imbalance in relation to the primary revenues fell €331 million on March 2022 to €307 million, particularly in regard to a fall in the interest paid overseas. The balance surplus in the secondary market fell by €197 million to €450 million, reflecting the fall in the payment of European funds to final beneficiaries.
The Bank of Portugal also states that the capital balance enjoyed a €208 million surplus — an increase of €101 million like-for-like thanks to greater assistance for investment.