Trade deficit worsens. Imports rise almost three times as much as exports
Portuguese imports increased 12.8% in July, while exports, in spite of growing, had a positive variation of just 4.6%.
The Portuguese trade balance worsened in July. According to Statistics Portugal (INE), imports increased 12.8% that month, surpassing the growth of exports. The increase in imports is almost three times as much as the growth of exports, which caused Portugal’s trade balance deficit to rocket.
“The deficit of trade balance amounted to EUR 1,057 million in July 2017, increasing by EUR 446 million when compared with July 2016″, INE explains. This worsening is mainly a result of an increase in imports. Although exports did have a 4.6% increase in July, the growth in imports was quite larger, reaching a 12.8% year on year growth. In the previous month, exports of goods had grown 6.7%, while imports accelerated 6.6%.
This worsening was a result of the increase in the invoice of fuel imports. “Excluding Fuels and lubricants, the trade balance stood at EUR -625 million, corresponding to an increase of EUR 219 million in the trade deficit compared with July 2016”, the Portuguese statistical entity explains. Without the effect of fuel, exports increased 5.1% in July. As for imports, the result points to a 9.4% increase.
As for imports, all economic categories had increases in comparison to the homologous month, but the growth in fuels and lubricants stands out: 45.8%. Exports, on the other hand, highlight the increases in industrial supplies (8.1%) and other capital goods (18.6%).
The Portuguese accumulated trade deficit reached in July 7,480 million euros. This amount surpasses the amount from the same period of last year in 1,677 million euros.
