Portugal’s ballooning public debt sails through the €250 billion barrier

pawnThe total value of Portugal’s public debt increased this August and, for the first time, the total exceeds €250 billion, according to the Bank of Portugal.

The Portuguese State, underwritten by the nation’s taxpayers, owes €250.38 billion to international investors and banks.

This figure is derived by using the Maastricht Treaty formula and the August total is €1.34 billion higher than at the end of July.

The government and the Prime Minister, António Costa, 'guarantees' that the public debt will follow a downward trajectory in the last months of the year but so far this year, it just keeps going up despite the government claiming Portugal is undergoing an economic resurgence of miraculous proportion.