09.09.202510:30:24UTC+00Portugal Trade Deficit Rises in July

In July 2025, Portugal experienced a notable increase in its trade deficit, reaching €3.293 billion compared to €2.12 billion in the previous year. This change resulted from a rise in imports coupled with a significant decrease in exports. Specifically, imports grew by 2.8%, largely driven by an 8.1% increase in industrial supplies, particularly chemical products imported from Ireland. However, when excluding processing transactions, imports slightly declined by 0.8%. The importation of transport equipment saw a notable increase of 15.2%, with a significant contribution from German automobiles, and consumer goods imports grew by 9.3%, primarily due to goods from Spain. On the other hand, fuel imports decreased by 29.4% as a result of falling crude oil prices and reduced volumes. Notably, imports from Ireland escalated by 76.3% (or 9.4% without processing), while those from Spain increased by 6.1%. Conversely, exports declined by 11.3%, mainly affected by a 29.3% drop in industrial supplies, especially chemicals directed to Germany and the United States. When excluding processing transactions, exports showed a slight increase of 0.4%. Exports of transport equipment grew by 17.8%, partly offsetting the decline. However, exports to Germany and the United States declined sharply by 46.4% and 37.1%, respectively, predominantly in the chemicals sector. Over the May to July 2025 quarter, imports increased by 6.6% while exports decreased by 3.4%.