Portugal Inflation Eases; Industrial Output Falls Further

(RTTNews) - Portugal's consumer price inflation moderated at the start of the year, a preliminary report from Statistics Portugal showed on Friday.

Separate official data showed that industrial production decreased for the second straight month in December.

Consumer price inflation eased to 2.5 percent in January from 3.0 percent in December.

This slowdown is partly explained by the base effect associated with the end of the VAT exemption on a set of essential food goods and the increase in electricity prices, observed in January 2024, the agency said.

Core inflation that excludes energy and unprocessed food products also slowed to 2.6 percent in January from 2.8 percent in the prior month.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices dropped 0.5 percent in December, reversing a 0.1 percent increase in the previous month.

EU-harmonized inflation came in at 2.7 percent in January, down from 3.1 percent in December.

Industrial production declined at a faster pace of 4.9 annually in December versus a 2.5 percent fall in November.

Energy output alone plunged by 16.6 percent from last year, and that of capital goods slid by 3.7 percent. On the other hand, intermediate goods production grew 1.5 percent.

Excluding energy grouping, industrial output showed a fall of 3.1 percent, and the manufacturing industry contracted by 3.4 percent.