According to the update of world economic forecasts, the IMF revised downwards by 1.1 percentage points (pp) the growth prospects of Portugal's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for this year, to 4 percent, compared to 5.1 percent forecast in October.

The institution chaired by Kristalina Georgieva also cut its growth forecast for 2023 to 2.1 percent, compared to 2.5 percent in October.

Most pessimistic

The IMF thus becomes the most pessimistic institution among the main national and international institutions on the expansion of Portuguese GDP this year.

The Portuguese Government forecasts growth of 4.9 percent, as does the Bank of Portugal, while the Public Finance Council estimates an expansion of 4.8 percent.

The European Commission sees Portuguese GDP advancing 5.5 percent and the OECD 5.8 percent.

The IMF also forecasts that the unemployment rate will be set at 6.5 percent this year and will decline slightly to 6.4 percent in 2023.