LISBON: Portuguese exports of goods rose by 5.8% year-on-year whilst imports put on 2.4% in the three month period ending last August according to data released by the INE – the National Institute of Statistics.
In monthly terms, August saw a year-on-year rise of 3.3% in exports with imports advancing 1.7% on 2014 whilst those figures were respectively up 4.8% and down 0.9% on July 2015.
This closed the trade deficit by €331.1 million to stand at €2.425 billion with a coverage rate of 83.9%, up 2.7% year-on-year.
The INE also reported that the rise in imports over the first half of 2015 was largely attributable to the vehicle transport item that surged 21.4% year-on-year and hence continuing the recovery that stretches back to 2013 following the steep falls in such imports over the two preceding years.
The numbers also demonstrate that the 3.3% rise in exports stemmed from rising sales of machinery and devices, other products and vehicles and other transport materials and to European Union markets given that non-EU exports dipped fractionally, by 0.5%, over this first six months.
Excluding fuels and lubricants, August saw exports rise an annualised 6.1% while imports added a further 5.4% with the INE stating that the month traditionally registers a slowdown due to the vacation period commonly taken in this time.
