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The Portugal Brief
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The Portugal Brief

The Portugal Brief

Energy

ERSE Pencils a 6.4% Lift to the Regulated Natural-Gas Tariff From 1 October — Couple-Only Households Move to €17.38 a Month and Two-Child Families to €32.53 as the Mid-East Supply Disruption Threads Through the Take-or-Pay Galp-Nigeria Legacy

ERSE proposes a 6.4% lift to the regulated TUR natural-gas tariff effective 1 October 2026. Couple-only bills move to €17.38/month and two-child families to €32.53. Middle East supply disruption drives the third above-6% revision in five years.

Economy

Eurobarómetro Ranks Portugal Third in the EU SME Recruiting-Difficulty Read at 35% — Tied With Luxembourg and Behind Malta's 38% and Cyprus's 39%, the 1-17 December 2025 Survey Sizes 15% of PT Firms Hiring Outside the Bloc and 18% Inside

Eurobarómetro 1 June 2026: 35% of Portuguese SMEs report 'much difficulty' recruiting — third in the EU, behind Cyprus (39%) and Malta (38%), tied with Luxembourg. 15% of PT firms hire outside the EU and 18% inside; 18% of those hire construction workers, 12% engineers, 9% IT.

Economy

Crédito à Habitação Climbs to €115 Billion at April Close — 10.7% Year-on-Year Print Is the Fastest Mortgage-Stock Lift Since February 2003 as the Garantia Pública Jovens 100% LTV Window Powers the Acceleration

BdP's April 2026 print puts the mortgage book at €115B, up 10.7% YoY — the fastest pace since February 2003. The Garantia Pública Jovens 100% LTV window for under-35s drives the lift. The May Financial Stability Report flags residential property as the system's main internal risk.