The public deficit in bailed-out Portugal dipped to 7.1 percent in the first half of 2013, down from 7.8 percent a year ago, data from the national statistics office showed Monday. The drop was brought on by improved tax receipts and government budget cuts, INE said, but it remains widely off a 5.5 percent deficit target agreed for the end of this year with the country\'s EU-IMF creditors.