Portugal\\\'s economy grows for Q2

The Portuguese economy grew on a quarterly basis for the second quarter, due to a growth in exports.  Portugal's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.3 per cent in the second quarter from the first quarter, the National Institute of Statistics revealed on Monday, as exports and imports increased. The National Institute of Statistics had expected the Portuguese economy to grow 0.6 per cent in its initial estimate in August. The figures were praised by Economy Minister Pires de Lima on Monday. ‘Portugal is growing,’ Lima told journalists in Matosinhos, some 320 km north of Lisbon, adding that the growth was attributed to private consumption, exports and investment, which he said would help the country consolidate its ‘process of economic recovery.’  Portugal's exports rose 1.5 per cent and imports 4.9 per cent from May to July, according to statistics released on Monday by the National Institute of Statistics. The debt-ladden country's trade balance narrowed to 527 million euros (about 680 million US dollars), according to the figures. In the previous quarter, from April to June, exports fell 0.5 per cent and imports grew 1.7 per cent, according to shanghaidaily.com