Portugal GDP Growth Accelerates To 2.4%

(RTTNews) - Portugal's economy expanded at a faster pace in the third quarter, a flash report from Statistics Portugal showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product, or GDP, advanced 2.4 percent year-on-year in the September quarter, faster than the 1.8 percent rise in the second quarter.

On the expenditure side, there was further positive contribution from domestic demand, with an acceleration of private consumption and deceleration of investment.

The acceleration in overall GDP growth was also helped by a less pronounced negative contribution of net external demand.

On a quarterly basis, the economy expanded 0.8 percent in the third quarter, following a 0.7 percent growth in the previous quarter.

Separate official data showed that the annual retail sales growth quickened to 5.0 percent in September from 4.4 percent in August. In the third quarter, retail sales recorded an annual growth of 3.0 percent.