Business confidence in Portugal fell to 2.6 in March 2026, marking a five-month low, down from 2.9 in February. Entrepreneurs’ price expectations rose across all sectors driven by tensions in non-EU markets, particularly in manufacturing, where expectations reached their highest level since October 2022. Trade confidence has declined over the past four months, reflecting weaker expectations for activity in the next three months and trade volumes. Similarly, construction confidence has fallen for a second consecutive month, weighed down by negative employment outlooks. In contrast, services sentiment and manufacturing confidence have improved over the past two months, supported by stronger business activity and positive assessments of finished goods stock and global demand. source: Statistics Portugal

Business Confidence in Portugal decreased to 2.60 points in March from 2.90 points in February of 2026. Business Confidence in Portugal averaged 1.71 points from 1989 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 5.80 points in May of 1998 and a record low of -6.40 points in June of 2020. This page provides the latest reported value for - Portugal Business Confidence - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. Portugal Business Confidence - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on April of 2026.

Business Confidence in Portugal decreased to 2.60 points in March from 2.90 points in February of 2026. Business Confidence in Portugal is expected to be 2.70 points by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Portugal Business Confidence is projected to trend around 2.20 points in 2027 and 2.00 points in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-02-26 09:30 AM
Business confidence
Feb 2.9 3.0 2.9
2026-03-30 08:30 AM
Business confidence
Mar 2.6 2.9 2.7
2026-04-29 08:30 AM
Business Confidence
Apr 2.6


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Business Confidence 2.60 2.90 points Mar 2026
Capacity Utilization 83.30 81.70 percent Mar 2026
Changes in Inventories -374.94 191.21 EUR Million Dec 2025
Industrial Production YoY -4.40 0.40 percent Feb 2026
Industrial Production MoM -0.20 4.10 percent Feb 2026
Manufacturing Production -8.60 -2.70 percent Feb 2026
Mining Production 10.80 41.70 percent Feb 2026


Portugal Business Confidence
In Portugal, the National Statistics Institute (INE) economic climate indicator on three terms moving averages is calculated in order to receive a timely composite indicator for the several sectors of economic activity. It is estimated using balances of questions from the Manufacturing Industry (1179 companies), Trade (1102 companies), Construction and Public Works (822 companies) and Services (1427 companies) surveys. The calculation is based on the factor analysis and the estimated series (the common component) is calibrated using the GDP change rates. The use of moving averages smooths out the series by removing the irregular movements, allowing the detection of the short-term trends.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
2.60 2.90 5.80 -6.40 1989 - 2026 points Monthly

News Stream
Portugal Business Climate at 5-Month Low
Business confidence in Portugal fell to 2.6 in March 2026, marking a five-month low, down from 2.9 in February. Entrepreneurs’ price expectations rose across all sectors driven by tensions in non-EU markets, particularly in manufacturing, where expectations reached their highest level since October 2022. Trade confidence has declined over the past four months, reflecting weaker expectations for activity in the next three months and trade volumes. Similarly, construction confidence has fallen for a second consecutive month, weighed down by negative employment outlooks. In contrast, services sentiment and manufacturing confidence have improved over the past two months, supported by stronger business activity and positive assessments of finished goods stock and global demand.
2026-03-30
Portugal Business Climate Eases to 4-Month Low
Business confidence in Portugal edged down to a four-month low of 2.9 in February 2026 from 3 in the previous month. Sentiment weakened among manufacturers (-2.1 vs -1.4 in January), constructors (2.3 vs 2.4) and traders (4.4 vs 5.7) but improved slightly for service providers (5 vs 4.7).
2026-02-26
Portugal Business Climate Edges Down in January
Business confidence in Portugal fell to 3 in January 2026 from 3.1 in December, ending two months of improvement as sentiment weakened across most sectors. The economic climate indicator declined after rising in the prior two months, reflecting lower confidence in trade, manufacturing and services. Trade confidence fell for a second month, driven by weaker views on sales volumes and activity expectations for the next three months. Manufacturing confidence also declined, reflecting negative assessments of global demand and near term production prospects. Services sentiment weakened in January due to poorer demand expectations, softer assessments of current activity and weaker order books. By contrast, confidence in construction and public works improved after a prior decline, supported by a strong positive contribution from employment expectations. Entrepreneurs’ price expectations eased in trade and services, while rising in manufacturing and construction.
2026-01-29