Public debt fell in November for the fifth month in a row to € 269.8 billion, data released Monday by the Bank of Portugal showed.
Compared to October, the difference is only 1.4 billion euros, but since its peak in June, the debt is calculated from the point of view of Maastricht, which is relevant for the goals set for the Portuguese parliament and the European Commission, a decline has already been observed. by 7.7 billion euros.
As explained by Banco de Portugal, the reduction in debt recorded in November is mainly due to the redemption of debt securities in the amount of 1.6 billion euros.
The value of government deposits also fell by € 1.7 billion. Thus, excluding deposits, the public debt increased slightly – by 0.3 billion euros to 251.5 billion euros.
The government is committed to a public debt target of 126.9% of GDP – the amount specified in its 2022 government budget proposal, which was ultimately rejected by parliament. This ratio is calculated using the Maastricht value of gross debt. If the November results persist, and if we assume the nominal GDP expected by the Ministry of Finance in September (the last available), then at the moment the figure is 126.5% of GDP.
