Business confidence in Portugal fell to 3 in January 2026 from 3.1 in December, ending two months of improvement as sentiment weakened across most sectors. The economic climate indicator declined after rising in the prior two months, reflecting lower confidence in trade, manufacturing and services. Trade confidence fell for a second month, driven by weaker views on sales volumes and activity expectations for the next three months. Manufacturing confidence also declined, reflecting negative assessments of global demand and near term production prospects. Services sentiment weakened in January due to poorer demand expectations, softer assessments of current activity and weaker order books. By contrast, confidence in construction and public works improved after a prior decline, supported by a strong positive contribution from employment expectations. Entrepreneurs’ price expectations eased in trade and services, while rising in manufacturing and construction. source: Statistics Portugal

Business Confidence in Portugal decreased to 3 points in January from 3.10 points in December of 2025. Business Confidence in Portugal averaged 1.70 points from 1989 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 5.80 points in May of 1998 and a record low of -6.40 points in June of 2020. This page provides the latest reported value for - Portugal Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Portugal Business Confidence - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on February of 2026.

Business Confidence in Portugal decreased to 3 points in January from 3.10 points in December of 2025. Business Confidence in Portugal is expected to be 2.00 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Portugal Business Confidence is projected to trend around 1.60 points in 2027, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-01-02 11:00 AM
Business Confidence
Dec 3.1 3.0 3.0
2026-01-29 09:30 AM
Business Confidence
Jan 3.0 3.1 2.9
2026-02-26 09:30 AM
Business confidence
Feb 3.0 2.9


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Business Confidence 3.00 3.10 points Jan 2026
Capacity Utilization 81.70 81.10 percent Dec 2025
Changes in Inventories 178.96 252.67 EUR Million Sep 2025
Industrial Production YoY 2.30 0.30 percent Dec 2025
Industrial Production MoM -1.90 -3.10 percent Dec 2025
Manufacturing Production -1.10 -0.90 percent Dec 2025
Mining Production 14.60 8.60 percent Dec 2025


Portugal Business Confidence
In Portugal, the National Statistics Institute (INE) economic climate indicator on three terms moving averages is calculated in order to receive a timely composite indicator for the several sectors of economic activity. It is estimated using balances of questions from the Manufacturing Industry (1179 companies), Trade (1102 companies), Construction and Public Works (822 companies) and Services (1427 companies) surveys. The calculation is based on the factor analysis and the estimated series (the common component) is calibrated using the GDP change rates. The use of moving averages smooths out the series by removing the irregular movements, allowing the detection of the short-term trends.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
3.00 3.10 5.80 -6.40 1989 - 2026 points Monthly

News Stream
Portugal Business Climate Edges Down in January
Business confidence in Portugal fell to 3 in January 2026 from 3.1 in December, ending two months of improvement as sentiment weakened across most sectors. The economic climate indicator declined after rising in the prior two months, reflecting lower confidence in trade, manufacturing and services. Trade confidence fell for a second month, driven by weaker views on sales volumes and activity expectations for the next three months. Manufacturing confidence also declined, reflecting negative assessments of global demand and near term production prospects. Services sentiment weakened in January due to poorer demand expectations, softer assessments of current activity and weaker order books. By contrast, confidence in construction and public works improved after a prior decline, supported by a strong positive contribution from employment expectations. Entrepreneurs’ price expectations eased in trade and services, while rising in manufacturing and construction.
2026-01-29
Portugal Business Climate at Near 7-Year High
Business confidence in Portugal edged up to 3.1 in December 2025, the highest reading since April 2019, from 3 in November. Sentiment increased mostly among traders (6 vs 4.9 in November), namely wholesalers (5.7 vs 4.3) and retailers (6.5 vs 5.8) ahead of the Christmas holidays, which are typically associated with higher consumer spending. Confidence among manufacturers also improved (-2 vs -2.6). On the other hand, service providers (6.6 vs 7.8) and constructors (2.2 vs 2.5) showed less optimism.
2026-01-02
Portugal Business Climate Hits 2019-Highs
Business confidence in Portugal inched up to 3 in November 2025, the highest reading since May 2019, from 2.9 previously. Sentiment improved mostly for traders (4.9 vs 3.1), of which retailers (5.8 vs 4.3) and wholesalers (4.3 vs 2), likely reflecting expectations of strong Black Friday and holiday discount sales. Improvements were also seen for constructors (2.5 vs 2.4) and manufacturers (-2.6 vs -3.7), while service providers turned less optimistic (7.8 vs 10.7).
2025-11-27