Fitch revises Portugal’s outlook to "positive"

The credit rating agency Fitch upgraded the Portuguese Republic’s outlook from "stable" to "positive", signalling confidence in the trajectory to reduce public debt and the country’s fiscal management.

The decision came a week after Standard & Poor’s (S&P) also revised Portugal’s outlook upwards. The two agencies sustain the revision with the expectation of the continuance of a prudent fiscal policy and a decrease in the debt ratio.

In 2025, Portugal recorded a budget surplus of 1.3 billion euros and a historical drop in the public debt ratio to 89.6% of GDP, beyond the 90.2% target set in the State Budget, the lowest in 16 years.

Foreign debt also went down last year to 110.9 billion euros, the lowest since the third quarter of 2007, according to the data from the Bank of Portugal.

According to the Minister of State and Finance Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, "this is good news for Portugal and the Portuguese, a fruit of the labour of households and companies", noting the importance of continuing to work towards reducing debt and boosting the economy’s resilience.