Lisbon, Oct. 9, 2026 (Lusa) - Exports of Portuguese goods rose by 2.9% and imports increased by 5.3% up to August, year-on-year, leading to a widening of the trade deficit by €2.45 billion to €24.424 billion, Statistics Portugal (INE) reported on Friday.

According to international trade statistics from INE, if TTE transactions – that is, those carried out for or following contract work (without transfer of ownership) – are excluded, there is a «more significant» increase in both exports and imports, of 6.7% and 8.6%.

Looking at August alone, exports and imports of goods recorded nominal year-on-year increases of 6.8% and 2.8% respectively (7.8% and 0.7%, in the same order, in July 2026).

When TTE transactions are excluded, the increase is even more pronounced for both flows: 11.6% for exports and 7.7% for imports (8.2% and 5.7%, respectively, in July 2026).

With exports growing faster than imports in August, the goods trade deficit narrowed by €115 million compared with the same month in 2025, standing at €2.991 billion.

However, when TTE is excluded, the trade deficit widened by 47 million euros to 3.024 billion.

PD/AYLS // AYLS

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