SYNTHESIS INE@COVID-19, 6 Jan-2021

January . 06 . 2021 SYNTH SIS IN @ COVID-19 www.ine.pt page 3/12 Communication Unit | tel: +351 21 842 61 10 | sci@ine.pt Stronger reduction in economic activity and price variations remain negative In November 2020: • There was an interruption in the partial recovery of economic activity observed since May, which had already slowed down in September and October. • The economic climate indicator declined, contrary to the recovery observed in the previous sixmonths, after reaching the seriesminimum in April. • The Consumer Confidence indicator declined after remaining relatively stable over the last five months, following the partial recovery, in May and June, of the largest decline in the series recorded in April. These developments resulted from the negative contributions of the components on expectations for the next twelve months, namely, perspectives on the future development of the country’s economic situation, the financial situation of the household and major purchases, and the positive contribution of opinions on the past evolution of the household’s financial situation. • The manufacturing confidence indicator declined, countering the increase seen in the previous month and interrupting the recovery seen between June and August, after reaching the historical minimum of the series in May. The reduction in this indicator reflected, on the one hand, the marked negative contribution of the balance of the perspectives on the production of enterprises and, to a lesser extent, of opinions on stocks of finished products; on the other hand, the positive contribution of opinions concerning the evolution of overall demand. The indicator declined in all three groupings: Consumer Goods , Investment Goods , and Intermediate Goods , moderately in the latter case. • The Construction and Public Works confidence indicator declined sharply in November, interrupting the recovery profile observed between May and October, after recording the sharpest decline in the series in April. The worsening of the indicator resulted from the negative contributions of both components: opinions on order books and employment perspectives. The decline of the indicator was particularly marked in the three divisions, Real Estate Development and Building Construction , Civil Engineering , and Specialized Construction Activities . • The trade confidence indicator declined significantly, interrupting the upward profile seen between May and October, after a strong reduction in April, when it reached the series minimum. These developments reflected the negative contribution of the perspectives on sales volume and the perspectives on business for the next three months, with opinions on the volume of stocks contributing positively. The confidence indicator declined in Wholesale Trade and, more markedly, in Retail Trade . • The services confidence indicator also declined significantly, after having partially recovered between June and October from the historical minimum of the series reached in May. The evolution of the indicator resulted from the negative contributions of the opinions on the evolution of the order books and, to a greater extent, the perspectives on the evolution of demand. The decline in the confidence indicator was observed in all sections, in particular: Arts , Entertainment , Sports and Recreational Activities , Transport and Storage and Accommodation and food services , which registered the reductions with the greatest magnitude. The economic activity indicator declined in October, halting the recovery profile observed between April and September, after registering the series minimum in April. By components in the expenditure side, in October: • The quantitative indicator of private consumption extended the upward profile recorded in the previous five months, after recording the minimum year-on-year rate of change of the series in April; • The investment indicator recorded slight year-on-year growth, after recording a sharp recovery between May and July.