Portugal maintains positive external account values at the start of 2021

  • ECO News
  • 21 April 2021

The country's current and capital account balance started 2021 in positive territory.

The Portuguese economy started the year in lockdown but still maintained positive external accounts. Portugal’s combined current and capital account balance stood at €169 million up to February, compared to €155 million in the same period last year.

“In the first two months of 2021, the combined current and capital account balance stood at €169 million, comparing with €155 million in the same period in 2020,” the Bank of Portugal (BoP) reveals this Wednesday, explaining that “the observed surpluses in services, secondary income and capital accounts overcame the deficits registered in goods and primary income accounts.”

At last, the current account deficit decreased in the first two months of 2021. According to the BoP, this improvement happened “because the decrease in the goods account deficit, by €1408 million, overcame the decrease in the services account surplus, by €1256 million.” A decrease “mainly justified by the significant reduction on the travel balance, by €1032 million.”