Portugal’s non-financial sector had debt of 726 billion euros at the end of the first half of the year, of which 317.7 billion euros was from the public sector and 408.3 billion euros from the private sector, the Bank of Portugal reported in in a statement in Lisbon.

The central bank also said that, at the end of 2016, non-financial sector debt increased by 10.9 billion euros, of which 9.9 billion related to the public sector and 1.0 billion to the private sector.

The changes in private sector indebtedness mainly reflect the increase in corporate debt (1.3 billion euros), notably a 3.5 billion-euro increase in financing from non-residents, as debt levels of private individuals was reduced by 300 million euros.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Portugal also reported that the country’s foreign deficit worsened in the first half of 2017, rising from 356 million euros in the first six months of 2016 to 685 million euros in the same period of this year.

The deterioration in the deficit was due to a cut in the surplus of the balance of goods and services, which decreased by 412 million euros compared to the first half of last year, as a result of a 12.1% rise in exports year-on-year against 14.7% for imports.

Growth of 825 million euros in the balance of services surplus, which includes revenues from tourism, “was insufficient to offset the increase in the deficit of the goods account,” said the central bank.

In the “travel and tourism” heading, the surplus increased by 808 million euros to 3.953 billion euros at the end of the first half of 2017. (macauhub)