The Portuguese economy grew 1.5% in the second quarter 2015 over the same period and recorded a growth of 0.4% chain, according to figures released today by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

The figures released today are in line with the flash estimate of quarterly national accounts, released on August 14 by INE, according to which the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) registered an annual increase of 1.5% in the second quarter of this year, rate of change “identical to that observed in the first quarter.”

This performance was due, on the one hand, the “significant negative contribution” of net external demand, checking up “an acceleration of imports of goods and services at a faster pace than exports of goods and services”, according to the INE.

The INE highlighted “the positive contribution of domestic demand”, which increased in the second quarter, reflecting the evolution of investment. ”

For the first quarter of this year, GDP increased by 0.4% between April and June, a variation also “identical to that recorded in the previous two quarters,” and there has been “a positive contribution of domestic demand, mainly reflecting the growth in consumption private, while the contribution of net external demand was negative. ”

In the first quarter, the Portuguese economy grew 0.4% in chain and presented an annual growth of 1.5%, according to figures released by the INE in May and have not been reviewed today by the Institute.
The government expects that the Portuguese GDP to grow 1.6% in 2015.

[Source]