LISBON: Portugal’s global trade deficit widened 15 percent in the three months between February and April as imports rose more than exports, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Friday.
The trade deficit, which is for goods only, rose to 2.862 billion euros from 2.480 billion euros a year earlier. Exports rose 11.1 percent while imports jumped 11.8 percent.
In February-April, exports outside of the European Union rose 26.3 percent and imports from non-EU countries rose 26.5 percent. Exports to European Union countries, Portugal’s main market, rose by 6.6 percent while imports from those countries increased by 7.9 percent.
A rise in exports is helping recovery in Portugal’s economy, which is expected to grow more than 2 percent this year after 1.4 percent in 2016.
