The president of the republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, defended this Friday that the country is experiencing a “double reality” where overall economic data considered very good takes time to reach “the pockets of the families”.
“These are general figures, but the projection of figures for households takes time (…) because interest rates on housing and consumer credit are still high,” the head of state stressed in statements to journalists in Seixal, Setubal.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa responded to data released this Friday by the Bank of Portugal (BdP), which predicts that the Portuguese economy will grow at 2.7% this year and 2.4% in 2024, with projections for GDP is revised upwards.
The BdP also sees an improvement in the budget balance faster than the government, pointing to a deficit of 0.1% this year, followed by a surplus of 0.2% from 2024.
For the President of the Republic, the growth may be even higher.
However, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stressed that the results will take some time to reach the Portuguese, noting that inflation “is still calculated at 5.2% for this year”.
“[A inflação] It is still, in terms of certain commodities, especially food, a significant cost and a significant pressure on the income of those who have less,” he stressed.
“So there’s a double reality here, where one side is saying this is very good and the other side is saying it’s not so good,” he concluded.
In July’s “Economic Bulletin”, presented this Friday in Lisbon by the governor of the banking regulator, Mário Centeno, the projections for activity growth were improved compared to 1.8% for this year and 2% for 2024 and 2025 expected in March.
“The Portuguese economy is expected to grow by 2.7% in 2023, 2.4% in 2024 and 2.3% in 2025,” the report read.
The regulator is therefore more optimistic than the government, which forecasts growth of 1.8% this year and 2% in 2024.
After a deficit of 0.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022, GDP foresees a decrease to 0.1% in 2023 and surpluses of 0.2% in the following years.
The forecast of the institution led by the ex-minister of finance – which posted a budget surplus for the first time in a democracy – appears more optimistic than that of the government, which for 2023 expects the deficit to be maintained at its 2022 value and a slight improvement to a deficit of 0.2% and 0.1% in 2024 and 2025.
Source: DN
