The INE also said that in annualised terms the first quarter exports were 2.0% lower and the imports 1.0% lower than in the first three months of last year.

The change in exports was mainly because of extra-EU trade, which dropped 14.9% in March after having tumbled 17.6% in February. Intra-EU exports on the other hand, went up 0.3% in March and 7.4% in February.

As regards imports, these shrank 0.8% in March “because of Intra-EU imports (-1.3%, compared with +5.4% in February), since the extra-EU imports saw an increase (+1.1% and 2.3% in February).

In terms of the markets for domestic exports, the INE said Angola (-46.4%) “was the country that contributed most in the overall reduction in exports in March 2016”, while Spain grew by 2.7% in exports from Portugal.