Portugal - Current Account Balance

For Portugal, detailed monthly balance of payments. These record economic transactions between residents and non-residents, per IMF "Balance of Payments Manual, 6th edition" and ECB/Eurostat recommendations. The moment of recording a transaction corresponds to a change in ownerships.

Quarterly gross external debt by institutional sector, also per BPM6. The outstanding amount of those actual current, and not contingent, liabilities that require payment(s) of principal and/or interest by the debtor at some point(s) in the future and that are owed to non-residents by residents of an economy.

Balance of payments

• Framework: IMF BPM6
• Measurement: Millions of euros (Mil. EUR)
• Adjustment: Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
• Native frequency: Monthly
• Start date: Uniformly 1996m1

Gross external debt

• Framework: IMF BPM6
• Measurement: Millions of euros (Mil. EUR)
• Adjustment: Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
• Native frequency: Quarterly
• Start date: Uniformly 2023Q1

Balance of payments

The source writes:

The balance of payments compilation is consistent with international standards and guidelines, namely with the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5) published by the IMF and the third edition of the OECD’s Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment.

The source writes:

According to the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position methodologies the following institutional sectors coverage should be considered: Monetary authorities - up to December 1998, includes the Banco de Portugal and the Treasury. From January 1999 onwards, includes only the Banco de Portugal. In accordance with the institutional arrangements in the Treaty establishing the European Community, namely its articles 105(2) and 116(3), only the Eurosystem, composed of the ECB and the national central banks participating in the single currency, has the exclusive right to hold and manage the official foreign reserves of the Member States from the beginning of Stage Three of EMU. General Government - from January 1999 onwards includes the Treasury. Other monetary financial institutions - does not include the Banco de Portugal; Other financial intermediaries and financial auxiliaries - includes, namely, Dealers, Wealth managing companies and Regional Development companies; Private individuals - includes household institutions ds and non-profits erving households.

A minus (plus) sign means a net increase (net decrease) on the assets and a net decrease (net increase) on the liabilities. The analysis of these items in net terms is particularly relevant when there are very significant transactions affecting both assets and liabilities. In these cases, only net figures will appropriately express the correct result, whereas the separate analysis of each component would be misleading.This situation has occurred mainly at the level of the direct investment item, where the separate analysis of Portuguese direct investment abroad and of foreign direct investment in Portugal has to be supplemented with the analysis of the total net direct investment item. This feature relates to the fact that there are direct investment transactions in both directions that balance each other, not resulting in a net investment in (or from) the Portuguese economy. This is the case in which a company resident in Portugal acts solely as an intermediary in a direct investment transaction between two foreigncountries. For example, if a nonresident company A invests in a resident company B and the latter invests in another nonresident company C, in practice the final net result will be an investment between nonresident companies (investment from A in C).

Gross external debt

The source writes:

The data on gross external debt covers only part of the external financial relations of Portugal. Indeed, gross external debt statistics do not include (a) financial liabilities arising from participation rights (i.e., shares and investment funds units related with portfolio investment; and equity capital, reinvested earnings and real estate investment regarding direct investment) and (b) any financial claims on non-residents. The International Investment Position and related stock statistics, which the Banco de Portugal publishes regularly, provides a comprehensive overview of Portugal’s financial relations with non-residents, including the aforementioned items (all external assets and the remaining external liabilities).

Further reading

At IMF (SDDS Plus):

• Balance of payments (Jan 2023)
• International investment position (Jan 2022/Jan 2023)
• External debt (Jan 2022/Jan 2023)

• Sep 2005 - Initial version.
• 17 Oct 2023, Phillip Thorne - Addendum of gross external debt: Properties, Further reading.