Consumer credit in Portugal up 8.57% in the first half year-on-year

LISBON, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) – Consumer credit in Portugal reached € 3 billion (US $ 3.54 billion) in the first half of 2021, an increase of 8.57 percent from the same period of 2020, according to data released Monday by Banco de Portugal (BdP).

According to data from Portugal’s central bank, June of this year was the fourth consecutive month in which funding exceeded the € 500 million mark.

The largest number of credit agreements were for credit cards, personal financing, and auto credit.

In contrast, consumer credit in the first six months of this year was down 15.4% from the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Considering only the month of June of this year, consumer credit fell 3.9% from May 2021, according to BoP data.

The Portuguese government has announced a series of measures to stimulate consumption and reactivate the country’s economy after the pandemic.

To encourage the recovery of the tourism, hotel and catering segment, for example, Portugal will refund value added tax (VAT) to consumers who make purchases during the months of this summer season. (1 euro = 1.18 US dollars)