Portugal Trade Gap Shrinks in May

Portugal’s trade deficit narrowed to €2.81 billion in May 2026 from €3.32 billion a year earlier, supported by stronger exports and lower imports. Exports increased 5.1% year-on-year to €7.32 billion, while excluding fuels and lubricants they rose 2.3%. The main driver was a 14.9% increase in industrial supplies exports, particularly base metals and chemical products. Among major trading partners, exports to Germany rose 16.6% and shipments to Belgium surged 56%, largely reflecting higher sales of industrial supplies, especially chemicals. Meanwhile, imports declined 1.6% to €10.13 billion, with non-fuel imports falling 6.8%. The largest drop came from industrial supplies, which decreased 17.2%. Import declines were particularly significant from Ireland, down 80.4%, and the Netherlands, down 24.3%, mainly due to lower purchases of industrial supplies, including chemical products.

Portugal’s trade deficit shrank to €2.88 billion in April 2026 from €3.03 billion a year earlier, as exports rose 15.5% to €7.40 billion, with gains across all categories. Fuels and lubricants exports surged 32%, driven by a 30.2% rise in energy costs linked to the Iran conflict. Industrial supplies exports grew 15.8%, mainly due to metals, while machinery and capital goods exports climbed 23.1%. Exports to Spain, France, and Germany rose by 11.1%, 12.5%, and 12.0%, respectively. Imports grew 8.9% to €10.28 billion, just below March’s record €10.44 billion, led by transport equipment (22.5%, mostly vehicles from Spain), fuels and lubricants (37%, due to higher energy costs), and machinery (17.8%, mainly from the Netherlands). However, industrial supplies imports fell 9%, primarily due to a drop in chemicals from Ireland for contract processing without ownership transfer. From January to April, the trade deficit widened to €11.43 billion from €9.33 billion in the same period of 2025.

Portugal’s trade deficit widened to €2.86 billion in March 2026, up from €2.51 billion a year earlier. Imports surged 11.6% to €10.37 billion, matching the record high set in July 2025, driven by strong demand for transport material (up 20.2%), particularly passenger cars from Spain, as well as machinery and other capital goods (up 20.0%), mostly from the Netherlands. Imports of industrial supplies also rose 8.5%, led by chemicals and metals from Spain and the Netherlands. Exports climbed 10.6% to €7.50 billion, the highest since July 2024, fueled by increased sales of machinery and capital goods (up 17.4%), primarily to Germany, as well as transport material (up 12.7%), boosted by passenger car exports to Turkey, and consumer goods (up 12%), particularly to Spain and France. In the first quarter of 2026, the trade deficit widened to €8.42 billion from €6.30 billion in the same period of 2025, as imports outpaced export growth.