Portugal Trade Gap Widens in June

Portugal’s trade deficit widened to €3.63 billion in June 2026, up €1.12 billion from a year earlier, as imports grew significantly faster than exports. Imports surged 19.6% year-on-year, driven mainly by a 50.7% increase in fuels and lubricants, particularly crude oil from Brazil, reflecting higher prices. Industrial supplies also contributed strongly, rising 23.5%. Imports from Brazil, the Netherlands and Germany recorded particularly sharp increases. Exports, meanwhile, rose 10% year-on-year, supported by a 69.3% jump in fuels and lubricants and a 13.4% increase in industrial supplies, particularly base metals. Exports to Spain (13.2%) and Germany (6.2%) strengthened. In the second quarter, exports increased 10.3% year-on-year, while imports rose 8.7%. During the first half of 2026, exports were up 1.7% from a year earlier, compared with a 6.3% increase in imports.

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.