These repayments are capital amortisations that were originally supposed to be paid in June 2019 and March 2020, the IGCP said, stressing that with these repayments, Portugal has paid back 60% of the initial IMF loan.

The repayment had already been announced by the finance minister who said that until the end of August, Portugal expected to make early repayments of €2-6 billion to the IMF.

In June, the European Financial Stability Find authorised Portugal to make more early repayments for the IMF totalling €9.4 billion.

The interest charged by the Fund is higher than the rate Portugal is currently paying for 10-year bonds, which is around 3% meaning these early repayments create savings in the country’s government debt.