The tenth consecutive period of Portuguese expansion
Staff Writer |
The Portuguese economy expanded 0.8% on the quarter in the three months to September 2016, following a 0.3% growth in the previous period.
Article continues below
It was the highest growth rate since the last quarter of 2013, driven by a rise in exports and household consumption while fixed investment continued to contract, final figures showed.
It was the tenth consecutive period of expansion and the strongest in three years, mainly boosted by net external demand as exports of goods and services expanded 2% (+1.2% in Q2), while imports showed no growth (+2% in Q2).
Meanwhile, domestic demand was unchanged from the previous period (+0.6% in Q2), as gross fixed capital formation contracted 1% (+0.3% in Q2), amid a drop in construction (-0.1% from -4.1% in Q2), intellectual property products (-2.9% from +2.1% in Q2) and transport equipment (-6.3% from +9.9% in Q2); and government spending fell 0.6% (+0.4% in Q2).
By contrast, household consumption expanded 0.5%, recovering from a 0.1% decline in the second quarter.
On the production side, output grew mainly for: Wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, accommodation and food service activities (+0.9% from +0.3% in Q2); financial, insurance and real estate activities (+0.2% from -0.4% in Q2); industry (+3% from +0.6% in Q2); and transportation and storage; information and communication (+2.1% from +0.1% in Q2).
Meanwhile, output fell for other services activities (-1.3% from +0.8% in Q2) and construction (-1.1% from -3.4% in Q2).
Total employment advanced 1.3%, the biggest gain since the third quarter of 2014, following a 0.4% growth in the precedent period.
Year-on-year, the economy advanced 1.6%, after growing by 0.9% in each of the previous two quarters. It was the strongest reading in one year, driven by net exernal demand, as exports rose 5.4% (+1.8% in Q2) and imports advanced at a slower 1.6% (+0.9% in Q2).
Domestic demand grew 0.9%, higher than 0.8% in the previous quarter, as households' spending expanded by 1.9% (+1.6% in Q2) and public expenditure increased by 0.5% (+0.7% in Q2) while fixed investment contracted 1.5% (-2.4% in Q2). ■