LISBON: Standards and Poor’s (S&P) shows a positive growth on Portugal’s bond rating. Mentioning that the government narrows its budgets deficits and the economy of the country recovers.
The rating outlook was revised to positive from stable, S&P. Standards and Poor’s had revised the outlook to stable from negative. The debt is rated BB, or two levels below investment grade, by the New York-based credit ranking company.
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“The outlook revision reflects our view of the gradual recovery of Portugal’s real and nominal growth prospects, alongside policymakers’ commitment to consolidating public finances over the medium term,” S&P said. It forecasts Portugal’s gross domestic product will grow on average about 1.8 percent per year in 2015 and 2016.
Now the government plans to make an early repayment of about 14 billion euros of its IMF loan after borrowing costs dropped and the European Central Bank announced a bond-buying plan.
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on March 16 that he hopes the economy will grow more this year than the 1.5 percent pace forecast by the government, according to comments broadcast by television channel SIC Noticias. The government aims to narrow the budget deficit to less than the EU’s limit of 3 percent of GDP in 2015. S&P said in the statement, It projects Portugal’s net government debt will drop to 113 percent of GDP in 2018 from 118 percent in 2014.
