Public debt decreases for the first time in eight months
According to Maastricht, public debt has shrunken 1.2 billion euros after having reached a record in September. However, according to Maastricht net deposits, debt has increased again.
Portuguese public debt decreased 1.2 billion euros in October, to 243.2 billion euros. This is the first time in eight months this number has plunged. The data was disclosed this Friday in the Statistical Press Release by the Bank of Portugal.
After the record registered in September, when public debt rocketed to 133.2% GDP (today, the Bank of Portugal revised the value upwards by one decimal), the month of October has brought a slight relief. The 243.2 billion euros correspond to the debt calculated according to Maastricht’s rules, which are the criteria Brussels and the markets find most relevant.
However, if the analysis concerns net debt of deposits of central government, the news is not as good, since the shrinking of the overall debt was also an effect of the liquidity in the Treasury. According to the central bank, net debt of deposits even increased when compared to the previous month, to 1.4 billion euros, reaching the amount of 224.6 billion euros.
The first decrease in eight months
Considering that the GDP is ascertained by the Portuguese National Statistical Institute (INE) every three months, the Bank of Portugal only determines the debt to GDP ratio quarterly. Using the most recent GDP estimate for 2016 made by the Ministry of Finance (which appears in the 2017 State Budget), debt continues to be higher than goal set by the minister of Finance Mário Centeno – it’s at 131.2%, when it should be, by the end of the year, 129.7%.
