Portugal’s economy grows 1.5% in Q1

Portugal’s GDP grew 1.5% in Q1 of this year after having increased 2.1% in the previous quarter according to the National Statistics Institute (INE).

It states that internal demand fell 0.9% from 1.9% in Q4 of 2023 to 1% in Q1 of 2024 because of a slowdown in private consumption and investment.
On the other hand, the INE says that net external demand increased 0.5% after being at 1.0% in Q4 of 2023. Imports of goods and services in volume suffered a more intense slowdown than exports.
Therefore, INE states that for the “fifth consecutive quarter there was a gain in terms of like-for-like exchange, although less expressive than in the previous three quarters because of a sharper fall in imports compared to exports.
In comparison to the fourth quarter of 2023, GDP in Portugal increased 0.8% in volume after having increased 0.7% quarter-on-quarter.
“The contribution of external demand rose to 1% after having been negative in Q4 of 2023 (-0.2%), while internal demand fell to 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in Q1 (0.9% in Q4, 2023), with an uptick in private consumption and a fall in investment.”