The net borrowing of Portuguese economy stood at 0.4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the year ending in the first quarter of 2022, which compares with a net lending of 0.7% of GDP in the previous quarter. Gross National Income (GNI) and Gross Disposable Income (GDI) increased by 3.0% and 2.8%, respectively, in the year ending in the first quarter, after quarter-on-quarter growth rates of 2.0% in the previous quarter. The change in the sign of the economy's external balance reflected the reduction of the net lending of Households  and the increase in the net borrowing of Non-Financial Corporations, since the net borrowing of General Government was reduced, and the balance of Financial Corporations remained unchanged.

The disposable income of Households sector increased by 1.4% compared to the previous quarter, with rates of change of 1.7% in compensation of employees and 2.4% in Gross Value Added (GVA). The final consumption expenditure of Households increased by 4.1% (2.3% in the previous quarter), leading to a reduction in the savings rate to 8.3% (10.7% in the previous quarter), which, together with the increase in investment, determined the reduction in the net lending of Households by 1.9 percentage points, to 2.4% of GDP.

The balance of Non-Financial Corporations stood at -2.8% of GDP, 0.5 percentage points less than in the previous quarter. The sector's GVA increased by 3.0%, which was partially offset by the increase in compensation of employees paid and investment (growth rates of 2.1% and 4.9%, respectively), and by the decrease in operating subsidies (-27.7%). 

The net lending of Financial Corporations remained at 1.5% of GDP in the year ending in the first quarter of 2022.

The balance of the General Government (GG) sector decreased by 1.3 percentage points in the year ended in the first quarter of 2022, representing a net borrowing of 1.5% of GDP. Considering quarterly figures and not the year ending in the quarter as a reference, the balance of GG in the first quarter of 2022 reached -233.6 million euros, corresponding to -0.4% of GDP, which compares with -6.0% in the same period of the last year.