Portugal's economy explained: GDP data, market trends, business developments, inflation, real estate, and economic policy. Analysis of how economic trends affect daily life and expat finances.
📋 In This Edition * Portuguese Equities: PSI Slips 0.27% but Leads Europe as Oil Tops $100 * Blue-Chip Movers * Government Bonds and the Euro * Business & Tech Focus: NOS Opens Earnings Season With
ACEA data show 137,080 new cars registered in Portugal in H1 2026, up 10.5% against the EU's 5.7%. Battery-electric models took a 25.3% share — above the EU's 20.7% — while diesel collapsed to 3.7%. Some 68% of new Portuguese cars now carry an electric motor.
The ECB held its deposit rate at 2.25% on Thursday as June inflation eased to 2.8%, but warned the energy shock from $90 oil has not fully fed through. Economists see a September hike as likely — just as the Bank of Portugal tightens mortgage limits from 1 August.
The European Commission approved a €65.37 million Solidarity Fund advance for Portugal after the storms Kristin, Leonardo and Marta killed at least 19 people and caused over €5.3 billion in damage — a first payment, with further aid still to clear the Parliament and Council.
José LuÃs Carneiro has met LuÃs Montenegro to open the OE2027 negotiation, demanding the PSD rule out a constitutional revision with Chega, leave pensions and the Health Basic Law untouched, and deliver on storm recovery — while insisting the PS vote remains 'open'.
The Constitutional Court has ruled that letting the Bank of Portugal set the annual rate of the banks' additional Resolution Fund contributions violates the Constitution, in a case brought by a bank contesting €36.89 million in charges — a crack in the mechanism that pays for the BES collapse.
📋 In This Edition * Portuguese Equities: PSI Jumps 1.2% Back Toward Multi-Year Highs * Blue-Chip Movers * Government Bonds and the Euro * Business & Tech Focus: Earnings Season Opens With Galp and EDP * Deal
