household savings rate back to beat minimum and falls to 4.2% in 2015 – Observer

In the quarterly national accounts by institutional sector for the last quarter of 2015, today announced the National Statistics Institute (INE) indicates that in the year ended in the fourth quarter of last year, the savings rate fell to 4, 2% of disposable income, down from 4.4% in the 12 months ended in September.

This means that remains “the downward trend, albeit at a slower pace than in previous quarters,” the INE, which also indicates that the disposable income increased by 0.5% in 2015, mainly due to the “increase of salaries”, which rose 0.5%.

This increase in remuneration for its part, ” was mainly determined by the behavior of remuneration paid by non-financial corporations, which rose 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015 “.

the household financing capacity decreased to 0.8% of gross domestic product ( GDP) in 2015, after having encrypted in 1.6% in the year ended in the previous quarter.

the INE said that for this result, especially contributed to reduction of capital transfers and lesser extent, the decrease in 4% of savings. “

Considering all sectors, it appears that the Portuguese economy’s financing capacity was 1.1% of GDP at the end of 2015, in line with that observed in the 12 months ended in September.

in a disaggregated analysis by institutional sector, INE states that “the need for financing of general government increased by 1.3 percentage points, standing at 4.4 % of GDP “, a deterioration that was due to the impact of the resolution of Banif, which had an effect of 1.4% of GDP.

Since the sector’s financing capacity of non-financial corporations stood 0.6% of GDP in 2015, “which corresponded to 0.1 percentage points more than in [year ended in] previous quarter,” a performance that was due to the increase of 1.1% of gross value added, which “more than offset the increases in remuneration paid and income taxes (growth rates of 0.6% and 9.7%, respectively).”

non-financial corporations, in turn, They showed a financing capacity of 4.2% of GDP at the end of last year, compared with a 2.2% financing capacity in the 12 months ended in September. According to the INE, this behavior was due to “two specific effects, negatively affecting the balance of this sector in 2014 and positive in 2015″.

On the one hand, in the fourth quarter of 2014, “were registered extraordinary contributions financial companies to pension funds, adversely affecting the appropriate balance “and on the other, in the last quarter of 2015,” the balance was affected by the impact of the Banif resolution operation (1.4% of GDP) “.