The Portuguese economy recorded a net lending of 2.7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2023, 1.0 percentage points more than in the previous quarter. Gross National Income (GNI) and Gross Disposable Income (GDI) increased both by 2.4% (growths of 2.3% and 2.4% in the year ending in the second quarter, respectively). The improvement of the economy's external balance reflected the increases in the balances of General Government and Households by 0.5 percentage points of GDP.

The disposable income of Households sector was up by 1.9% compared to the previous quarter, with increases of 2.3% and 0.6% in compensation of employees and Gross Added Value (GVA), respectively. Final consumption expenditure grew 1.1% (1.6% in the previous quarter), leading to an increase in the savings rate to 6.6% (5.8% in the previous quarter), which led to a net lending of 1.1% of GDP (0.6% of GDP in the previous quarter). In real terms, the adjusted GDP per capita of Households increased by 0.7% in the third quarter of 2023.

The balance of Non-Financial Corporations stood at -1.1% of GDP, improving by 0.2 percentage points compared to the second quarter of 2023. GVA recorded an increase of 2.3%, 0.9 percentage points less than in the previous quarter, while Gross Capital Formation increased by 2.7%. 

Net lending of Financial Corporations reached 2.2% of GDP, with the sector's GVA growing by 9.3% in the third quarter of 2023, reflecting the growth in the financial intermediation margin obtained by banking institutions when granting loans and obtaining deposits, due to the increase in interest rates, particularly on loans. 

The balance of the General Government sector increased by 0.5 percentage points in the third quarter of 2023, shifting from a zero balance in the second quarter to a net lending of 0.5% of GDP, as a result of an increase in revenue (2.9%) higher than the increase in expenditure (1.9%). Considering quarterly values and not the year ending in the quarter, the GG balance in the third quarter of 2023 reached 5,235.6 million euros, corresponding to 7.7% of GDP, which compares with 6.6% in the same period of the previous year. Compared to the same period of the previous year, there was an increase of 10.7% in revenue and 8.0% in expenditure.