PORTUGAL TOWARDS A HISTORIC LOW DEFICIT

&amp;NewLine;<h1 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">PORTUGAL TARGETS A HISTORICALLY LOW DEFICIT IN 2019<&sol;h1>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>Portugal&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;s Socialist government pledged on Tuesday to achieve the lowest budget deficit in its history in 2019, while raising the pay of its civil servants and providing transport subsidies for families&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>In its draft budget&amp;comma; the government has set itself the target of a deficit representing 0&amp;comma;2&amp;percnt; of gross domestic product&amp;comma; &amp;lpar;GDP&amp;rpar;&amp;comma; against 0&amp;comma;7&amp;percnt; expected this year&amp;comma; and hopes to achieve economic growth of 2&amp;comma;2&amp;percnt;&amp;comma; just slightly less than this year&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>It also forecasts an unemployment rate of 6&amp;comma;3&amp;percnt; next&amp;year&amp;comma; compared with 6&amp;comma;9&amp;percnt; in 2018&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>"This is a good budget that follows the road we have traced so far: more growth, more employment and more equality," said Prime Minister Antonio Costa on the occasion of the International Year of Equality. <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;investir&period;lesechos&period;fr&sol;cours&sol;action-twitter-inc&comma;xnys&comma;us90184l1026&comma;twtr&comma;tick&period;html">Twitter<&sol;a>&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>Portugal&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;s economy has rebounded strongly over the past three years and since the Socialists came to power after the debt crisis in 2011&amp;comma; on the back of a rebound in exports&amp;comma; increased foreign investment and a surge in tourism and&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;real estate&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>The government&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;s draft budget for 2019 includes transport subsidies for families living in the Lisbon and Porto&amp;comma; regions, which are home to almost half the population in Portugal&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>The plan also calls for unblocking career advancement for civil servants for the first time since 2009&amp;comma; with pay rises and promotions on the cards&amp;period; Retirement pensions are also set to rise by more than inflation in 2019&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>Portugal's debt-to-GDP ratio is set to fall to 118&amp;comma;5&amp;percnt; next&amp;year&amp;comma; from 121&amp;comma;2&amp;percnt; in 2018&amp;comma; shows moreover the government's draft budget&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>The Minister of Finance <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;investir&period;lesechos&period;fr&sol;recherche&sol;&quest;exec&equals;1&amp&semi;texte&equals;mario&percnt;20centeno&amp&semi;nr&equals;1">Mario Centeno<&sol;a> presented this draft budget to Parliament just before midnight on Monday&amp;period; He is due to hold a press conference on Tuesday morning to provide further details&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>Moody&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;s announced on Friday that it was upgrading Portugal's credit rating to <strong>&amp;lsquo&amp;semi;Baa3&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;<&sol;strong> with a stable&amp;period outlook;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>Support for growth is strengthening and the structure of external debt is improving, making Portugal's economy more resilient, as the rating agency Period points out;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;