THE The Portuguese economy grew by 2.6% in the first quarter, the INE confirmed on Tuesday, almost exclusively thanks to the household consumption. But that is a boost that is threatened given the rise in inflation, which has reached 8%, and the rapid rise in interest rates in the eurozone, which will affect credit installments. On the contrary, the investment slowed down (also compared to the fourth quarter) and the weight of exports – that Costa wants to raise to 50% of GDP – remains below pre-pandemic.
“This is growth that is closely related to the end of the lockdowns and has almost no impact from the war. [que começou a 24 de fevereiro] so that in the second quarter it is very likely that we will have a drop“, says Pedro Braz Teixeira. Even so, the economist is not as pessimistic as the European Commission, who predicts a 1.5% drop in Portuguese growth in the second quarter, compared to the first.
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Source: Observadora
