Public debt grows 0.9% and exceeds 280 billion euros for the first time

Public debt has been growing for five consecutive months. In April, according to data from the Bank of Portugal released this Monday, the stock of public debt from a Maastricht perspective increased by 2.59 billion euros to a record 280.9 billion.

“This change reflected the increase in debt securities (+2.3 billion euros) and Savings Certificates (+0.5 billion euros), which was partially offset by the decrease in loans (-0.1 billion euros) and Treasury Certificates (-0.1 billion euros)”, the Bank of Portugal said in a statement.

This brings public debt above 97% of GDP, after the Republic’s debt ratio stood at 96.3% of GDP in the first quarter.

In the first four months of this year alone, the debt stock has grown by more than 10 billion euros. In year-on-year terms, data from the Bank of Portugal also shows that public debt grew by 3.16% in April compared to the 272 billion euros recorded in May 2024. The debt burden has grown year-on-year for seven consecutive months.

The Bank of Portugal also reveals that assets in general government deposits totalled 20.4 billion euros, “which corresponds to an increase of 1.6 billion euros compared to March”. Deducted from these deposits, “public debt increased by one billion euros to 260.4 billion euros”, concludes the Bank of Portugal.