Imports and exports soar by over 40% due to inflation
The deficit of trade balance in goods increased by €976 million when compared with May 2021, to a total amount of €2,421 million.
In May, exports and imports of goods increased more than 40% year-on-year (YoY), a nominal change mainly affected by inflation, according to Statistics Portugal (INE)
Exports were up 40.6% YoY, while imports rose 46.4% YoY. The deficit of trade balance in goods increased by €976 million when compared with May 2021, amounting to €2,421 million.
INE said that industrial supplies stood out amongst the most sold and most purchased products by Portugal abroad during the month of May, up 60.3% and 38.6%, respectively.
There was also a significant increase in imports of fuels and lubricants (+147.8%), partly explained by by the transactions of natural gas, as well as by the higher prices of these products in the international market.
When excluding fuels and lubricants, exports and imports grew by 35.3% and 34.4%, respectively (+12.6% and +18.5%, in the same order, in April 2022), explains the statistics office.
Compared to the previous month, exports and imports increased by 19.9% and 13.7%, respectively. In the quarter ended in May, exports and imports increased by 23.3% and 35.3%, respectively, when compared with the same period of last year.
