Exports increase in October. Trade deficit reached €1.6bn

Exports in Portugal boosted again in October, having increased at a superior rate than imports now for the second month in a row.

Sales to the international markets increased by 6% year on year, while the acquisition of goods from the outside increased “only” by 5.3%. In this scenario, regardless of the increase in exports, the trade deficit increased by €54m getting to a rough value of €1.593m.

“In October 2018 the exports and imports of goods registered a year on year increase of +5.9% and 5.3%, respectively and both increased significantly in monthly terms (+1.0% and +0.4%, same order)”, the Portuguese Office for National Statistics (INE) noted on their “Statistics on International Markets” report, published this Monday.

This data excludes services like tourism. According to the INE, if we put aside lubricants and fuels, a category of goods which highly impacts Portuguese exports, then exports have increased by 8.5% and imports by 7.6%, having also accelerated in comparison to September. In this section, Portugal registers a trade deficit of €1.1bn.

In October the transport materials and industrial supply have contributed the most for Portuguese exports, having registered a growth of 17.7% and 9.1%, respectively. As for “lubricants and fuels”, exports fell back by 35.2%, partially due to “the stoppage programmed by the national oil refineries”, the INE noted.

Our main partners in trade are still Spain, France and Germany, and sales to these markets in October hit €1.3bn, €643m and €585m, respectively.

Portuguese exports suffered a 27% decrease in the US market and fell back by 54.7% in Brazil.