António Costa says the 2017 deficit stood “close to 1.1%”, after all
This Wednesday, in the European Parliament, António Costa said the 2017 deficit stood "close to 1.1%". Official data will be revealed on March 26 by INE.
The 2017 deficit stood “close to 1.1%”, according to statements from the Portuguese prime minister in European Parliament, this Wednesday. António Costa stood for the current Government, arguing that “it has allowed good results in the consolidation of public finance”.
In January, António Costa had pointed to 1.2% for the deficit. The Executive’s initial forecast was 1.4%. Official data will be revealed by Statistics Portugal (INE) on March 26.
“This policy made Portugal turn the page on austerity and it has allowed the country to obtain good results in the consolidation of public accounts. Last year’s deficit stood close to 1.1%, with the beginning of a decrease in public debt, while we had the largest growth since the beginning of the century and an unemployment rate that has been decreasing”, António Costa states, saying he will continue these “successful” policies.
In 2017, according to INE, GDP increased 2.7%, a never-before-seen growth since 2000, aided especially by an acceleration in investment. From the third to the fourth quarter, however, the Portuguese economy decelerated slightly. As for the unemployment rate — another indicator highlighted by António Costa — retrieved to 8.9% in 2017, the smallest amount since 2008.
