LISBON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said Monday his country will continue with the debt reduction trajectory and that the evolution of debt is measured annually, not monthly.
"Our goal is to maintain a deficit reduction, maintain a positive primary balance and continue the path of debt reduction, as stated in the budget and the Stability Program," Costa told reporters at a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart, Pedro Sanchez, who was visiting Portugal.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of Portugal revealed data showing that the country's public debt reached a new high of 250.313 billion euros (about 291.2 billion U.S. dollars) in May, exceeding the 250.296 billion euros (about 291.1 billion U.S. dollars) registered in August last year.
Costa said that "the path of cutting debt is known" and that this year will see the debt reduced "for the second consecutive year."
