By Alex Ellis

Today Portugal is set to auction £1.25 billion in bonds in order to raise capital to combat the country’s growing debt. Portugal has categorically stated that it requires no form of bailout, however when Ireland was in a similar situation government officials stated the same. The whole point of today’s exercise is, as discussed an attempt to raise capital however it could actually paint a  much clearer picture of what the future may be for Portugal’s economy.

In the past when Ireland and Greece took the bailout we saw some great buying opportunities for those clients looking to exchange GBP to EUR as the Euro exchange rates weakened as a result. I would expect the same to happen if Portugal were to do the same. However this does not leave the pound totally unscathed, the UK is of course a member of the EU and therefore is required to offer financial aid to any country that faces an economic crisis. This will come at a time when we can ill afford to offer any financial support as our own economy is already struggling.

The auction is due to start at 12:00AM (GMT) so if you would like further information prior or in the aftermath of this release then please feel free to contact us.