Portugal Business Sentiment Edges Lower

Portugal’s business confidence indicator edged down to 2.8 in September 2026 from 2.9 in the previous month. Sentiment weakened in construction and public works (4.5 vs 4.9) after increasing for the previous six months, while confidence in overall trade fell sharply to 1.7 from 3, reflecting a marked deterioration among wholesalers (-1.5 vs -0.1) and retailers (4.9 vs 6.1). Meanwhile, confidence improved slightly among manufacturers (-4.3 vs -4.4) and in services (8.8 vs 8.4). Looking ahead, expectations for accelerating price growth increased across all sectors, particularly in manufacturing, services and trade, and more moderately in construction and public works.

Portugal's business confidence indicator rose to 2.9 in August 2026 from 2.8 previously, reaching the highest since February. Sentiment remained elevated among service providers (8.4 vs 8.4 in July) and improved further for constructors (4.9% vs 4.6). On the other hand, confidence weakened among manufacturers (-4.4 vs -4.3) and traders (3 vs 3.7), of which retailers (6.1 vs 6.4) and wholesalers (-0.1 vs 0.9).

Portugal's business confidence indicator stood at 2.8 in July 2026, unchanged from the previous month, when it reached its highest level since March. Confidence improved in construction and public works (4.6 vs 4.3), supported by stronger employment prospects and more favorable assessments of order books. Manufacturing sentiment also edged up, though remaining in negative territory (-4.3 vs -4.4). In contrast, trade confidence weakened to 3.7 from 4.2, reflecting less favorable assessments of sales volumes and activity expectations for the next three months. Meanwhile, confidence in the services sector eased slightly to 8.4 from 8.5, as weaker views on order books and demand prospects more than offset other factors.