SYNTHESIS INE@COVID-19, 25 Oct-2021

October . 25 . 2021 SYNTH SIS IN @ COVID-19 www.ine.pt page 5/7 Communication Unit | tel: +351 21 842 61 10 | sci@ine.pt A steep increase in industrial prices The latest quantitative information 1 available 2 , reveals different dynamics in the evolution of nominal and in real indicators, particularly in industry, notably reflecting significant increases in prices. In August: • Short-term indicators of economic activity from the production perspective pointed to an acceleration in nominal terms, while in real terms there was a reduction in the industrial production index and an acceleration in construction, in the latter case exceeding the levels of the same period of 2019; • In exports and imports of goods in nominal terms, the levels recorded were also higher than in the same period of 2019; • The quantitative summary indicators (economic activity, private consumption, and investment) showed lower growth rates than those observed in July. In September: • The economic climate indicator decreased, performing irregularly since July when the recovery observed since March was interrupted; • The consumer confidence indicator increased, as had already happened in August and after the decrease observed in July, approaching the pre-pandemic values recorded at the beginning of 2020; • The manufacturing output price index accelerated to a year-on-year rate of change of 10.0% (9.2% in the previous month), registering the highest growth of the present series, which reflects the strong increase in energy and intermediate goods prices; • The prices of consumer goods production increased considerably below the other components, registering a year-on-year rate of change of 2.4%; • Passenger car sales registered a year-on-year drop of 18.4%, after a reduction of 35.8% in the previous month; Passenger car sales 1 This analysis is based on series of effective data (raw or seasonally adjusted). 2 Based on information available up to October 18 th , 2021. - 18.4 -200.0 -100.0 0.0 100.0 200.0 300.0 400.0 500.0 Sep-05 Sep-07 Sep-09 Sep-11 Sep-13 Sep-15 Sep-17 Sep-19 Sep-21 y-o-y rate/%