Public debt soars up to €274.1 billion in February
The country's public debt, in Maastricht terms, jumped 4.2 billion euros in February to 274.1 billion euros.
Portugal’s public debt, in Maastricht terms, rose 4.2 billion euros in February to €274.1 billion, a new record, according to data published on Thursday by the Bank of Portugal (BoP). “This was mainly driven by an increase in debt securities, amounting to €4.2 billion,” the institution said.
The BoP also reports that the general government deposits “increased by €2.0 billion, with public debt net of deposits increasing by €2.2 billion from the previous month, to a total of €248.8 billion.”
The Portuguese public debt ratio rose from 117.2% of GDP in 2019 to 133.7% of GDP in 2020, a record high caused by the pandemic crisis, above the previous peak of 132.9% in 2014. For this year, the Portuguese government expected a fall to 130.9% of GDP, maintaining the trajectory of debt reduction in the following years.
