LISBON: The Portuguese state paid slightly over €1 billion in interest and commissions to the International Monetary Fund for loans granted under its Economic and Financial Assistance Programne in the first five months of this year, the General Directorate of the Budget reported.
The €1.021 billion total represents an 18.8 percent increase on the same period of last year, due not only to interest kicking in on the 10th loan payment but also a rise in the interest rate that came into effect in May 2014, coupled with the depreciation of the euro.
When considering all such direct debt instruments, Portugal paid out €2.777 billion in interest and commissions through to May, up 23.6 percent on 2014. The General Directorate also pointed out that this was due to Treasury Bonds issued in 2014, bearing interest in February and April of this year as well as the rise in payments to the IMF.
