Public debt rises 2.4 billion in August and sets new record

Public debt, from the point of view of Maastricht, rose by 2,440 million euros in August to 267,114 million euros, the highest ever value of public debt stock. The previous record was reached in July with public debt reaching 264,670 million euros. The figures were released this Thursday by the Bank of Portugal.

“In August 2020 public debt stood at 267.1 billion euros, a 2.4 billion euros increase from the end of July,” says the central bank, explaining that “this was mainly driven by an increase in debt securities (2.6 billion euros)”. In other words, it was the issuance of debt as a result of the pandemic crisis that set a new record.

Data from the Bank of Portugal also show that the general government deposits increased by 5.4 billion euros, to 24.54 billion euros. Thus,  public debt net of deposits decreased by 2.9 billion euros compared to the previous month, totalling 242.6 billion euros.