Summary
In December, the economic sentiment and the consumer confidence indicators diminished in the Euro Area (EA) and in the European Union (EU27).
In Portugal, the economic climate indicator decreased again in December, maintaining the downward movement started in October 2010 and attaining the minimum of the series. The economic activity indicator, available until November, extended the descending path observed since September 2010. The private consumption indicator presented a stronger reduction in November, reflecting the negative contributes of non-durable and durable consumption. In the same month, the Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) indicator diminished more intensely, due to the negative contributes of all components, especially in construction. Concerning the international trade of goods, in nominal terms, exports and imports registered year-on-year change rates of 15.1% and -3.6% in November (15.4% and -0.8% in the previous month), respectively.
In 2011, the average change rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 3.7% (1.4% in 2010). This result might reflect the strong rise of the energy products’ prices and the change in the VAT rate from January 2011. The goods and the services components presented growth rates of 4.4% and 2.5% (1.7% and 1.0% in 2010), respectively. The annual average change rate of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) shifted from 1.4% in 2010 to 3.6% in 2011, registering a difference relatively to the EA of  0.9 p.p. (-0.2 p.p. in the previous year).