Its Fiscal Monitor report forecasts that Portugal will turn in a budget deficit amounting to 3.1% of GDP and behind Spain (4.4%), Greece (4.2%), France (3.8%), Slovenia (3.7%) and Finland (3.2%).


Portugal turns in a more extreme position in terms of its national debt level with the IMF predicting Portugal will close 2015 with debt at 127.8% of GDP and behind only Italy (133.1%) and Greece (196.9%).


Produced by IMF Department of Budgetary Affairs, headed by the former Portuguese Finance Minister Vítor Gaspar, the report provides a stark outlook for 2020 with the country due to turn in the second largest deficit in that year whilst retaining the third highest debt rate.


The Fund predicts a Portuguese deficit of 2.3% for 2020 and worse only than Slovenia on 5.1% with debt standing at 118.9% of GDP, again behind Italy and Greece.


The IMF sees a sluggish close of the decade for the Eurozone as a whole with this year’s budget deficit for the region of 2% remaining negative at 0.2% in 2020 with debt sliding from 93.7% to 85.2% in 2020 and hence still well above the 60% stipulated by the Maastricht treaty.