LISBON: The National Statistics Institute said the economic climate indicator measures business confidence at plus 0.6 in March after 0.3 in February. The index turned positive in May 2014 the month Lisbon exited an international bailout.
Portugal’s economic climate indicator rose in March to its highest level since October and consumer confidence increased to its best mark since 2002, data showed.
The National Statistics Institute also said its consumer confidence indicator was at a negative reading of 19.2 this month, its highest since April 2002 – compared with minus 21.2 in February.
The indices started rebounding at the start of 2013, when Portugal began to recover from its debt crisis which led to the worst economic slump since the 1970s. Portugal’s economy grew 0.9 percent in 2014 – its first full year of growth since 2010.