FRANKFURT (MNI) – Portugal’s fiscal consolidation and rebalancing
efforts are moving faster than expected and have put the country on a
good path to regain market access, European Central Bank President Mario
Draghi said Tuesday.
“The adjustment is actually taking place faster than expected,”
Draghi said in testimony before the European Parliament in Brussels,
adding that Portugal was likely to bring its budget deficit below 3% of
GDP in 2014.
“The economy is rebalancing from a purely domestic demand base to a
more export-oriented economy,” he said, noting improved competitiveness,
lower unit labor costs and smaller current account deficits. “All these
signs are signs of progress.”
“The very good news in a sense is that Portugal issued a
[three-year] bond last week,” Draghi said. “The sense is that the
government is well poised to regain market access within the horizon it
has forecast.”
Last week Draghi said Portugal did not qualify for bond purchases
under the ECB’s OMT bond-buying program because it has not yet regained
full market access.
— Frankfurt bureau: +49 69 720 142; email: frankfurt@mni-news.com —
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