The Portuguese government debt ended the year 2014 at 128.7% of GDP, a value that is above the forecasts made by the Government last October, revealed on Monday the Bank of Portugal.
According to the data published in the Statistical Bulletin of February, the debt value (using the optical Maastricht) amounted to 224,477 million euros at the end of last December. As a percentage of GDP, this represents 128.7%. It is a decline compared to 131.4% at the end of the third quart er 2014, but it means an increase compared to the end of 2013.
This year, there will be thus the first, since the beginning of crisis in Portugal that can reverse the worsening trend of the weight of public debt in the economy. This was a goal set by the Government which, when presented in October the draft state budget for 2015 had estimated that at the end of 2014, public debt amounts to 127.2% of GDP.
Already during this month of February, the European Commission had advanced with an estimate for the value of public debt of 128.9% of GDP in 2014.
One explanation that has been given by the Executive to the maintenance of public debt in large amounts is that the Treasury, for precautionary reasons, have been accumulating significant cash surpluses. According to data from the Bank of Portugal, deposits accumulated in the end of 2014 were 14,929 million euros. Apart from these figures, the net public debt was 206 970 million in December 2014, compared with 201,245 million in December 2013. As a percentage of GDP, also recorded an increase in this indicator, which went 117.5% at the end of 2013 to 118.6% at the end of 2014.
For 2015, the government is aiming for a reduction of the total public debt to 123.7% of GDP. The European Commission predicts a slightly higher number:. 124.5%
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