Portugal's budget deficit rose to 7.9 per cent of gross domestic product in the first quarter, up from 7.5 per cent in the corresponding period in 2011, the statistics body INE said Friday, according to dpa. The rise was expected to make it more difficult for Lisbon to reach the deficit target of 4.5 per cent that has been agreed with the European Union for this year. Portugal's deficit for all of 2011 was 4.2 per cent, but that was only achieved thanks to an exceptional transfer of banks' pension funds into state coffers. Earlier this week, Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar said Lisbon was not considering additional austerity measures for the time being. Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho's government is enacting an austerity programme agreed with the EU and International Monetary Fund, which granted Lisbon a bailout worth 78 billion euros (98 billion dollars).
