Inflation slows to 8.2% in February; fourth consecutive decrease
In the month of October, the inflation rate of 10.1% was the highest since May 1992.
The year-on-year rate of change in Portugal of the consumer price index (CPI) fell to 8.2% in February, from 8.4% in January, according to a flash estimate released on Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
According to INE, “based on the information already collected, the year-on-year rate of change of the consumer price index (CPI) fell for the fourth consecutive month, to 8.2% in February, down 0.2 percentage points (p.p.) from the previous month.
The underlying inflation indicator (total index excluding unprocessed foodstuffs and energy) should register a variation of 7.2% in February (7.0% in the previous month).
INE estimates that the year-on-year rate of change in the energy products index fell to 2.0%, down 5.1 p.p. on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
Conversely, in February, the index for unprocessed food products “should have accelerated to 20.1% (18.5% in January)”. In January, compared to the previous month, the variation in the CPI was 0.3% (-0.8% in January and 0.4% in February).
The INE adds that the average variation rate over the last 12 months was 8.6% (8.2% in the previous month).
If this quick estimate by INE is confirmed – definitive data regarding February’s CPI will be released on 10 March – it will be the fifth fall in inflation in a year and a half, after August, November, December and January had recorded the only falls in the year-on-year variation of the CPI since June 2021.
In the month of October, the inflation rate of 10.1% was the highest since May 1992.
As for the Portuguese harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP), it should have registered a year-on-year variation of 8.6% in the month under analysis, remaining the same as that verified in January.
