Goods exports increased 2.5% by July, in year-on-year terms, while imports grew 5.5% in the same period, according to data released by the National Statistics Institute. This faster growth of imports led to a worsening of the Portuguese trade deficit.
The trade deficit worsened by 2,481 million euros, reaching a total of 21,349 million euros. This worsening reflects the fact that purchases from abroad grew at a higher rate than sales of Portuguese goods abroad.
The INE data, released today, thus shows a worsening of Portugal's trade imbalance with the rest of the world in the first seven months of the year, when compared to the same period of the previous year.
