In the Euro Area (EA), Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in volume registered a year-on-year rate of change of -15.0% in the second quarter of 2020 (-3.1% in the previous quarter). In July, the consumer confidence indicator decreased in the EA, while the economic sentiment recovered. The prices of raw materials and oil presented growth rates of 4.6% and 5.4% compared with previous month, respectively (3.4% and 32.8% in June).
In Portugal, according to the second flash estimate, GDP in volume presented a year-on-year rate of change of -16.3% in the second quarter of 2020 (decrease of 2.3% in the first quarter), while the quarter-on-quarter rate of change was -13.9% (-3.8% in the previous quarter).
Not considering three-months moving average (see next section), the information already available for July reveals a less intense contraction in economic activity, when compared to the previous month. The economic climate indicator increased between May and July, after reaching the minimum value of the series in April. Confidence indicators increased in all sectors, more intensely in Manufacturing. The consumer confidence indicator decreased in July, after recovering in the two previous months.
The overall amount of national withdrawals, payment of services and purchases at automatic payment terminals carried out on the automatic teller machines of the Multibanco network decreased by 9.7% in July, on year-on-year terms, after decreasing 14.4% in June. The information regarding motor vehicles sales registered rates of change of -17.6%, -19.4% and +67.3% for passenger cars, light commercial vehicles and heavy duty vehicles (-56.3%, -36.0% and -67.0% in June, respectively).
According to the Fast and Exceptional Enterprise Survey, the results point to a slight improvement in the enterprises’ situation in the first fortnight of July. The percentage of enterprises in operation was 99% (+3 percentage points than in the previous fortnight and +16 percentage points than in April). In the Accommodation and food services sector this percentage was smaller (93%, representing a 11 percentage points increase from the previous fortnight). Given the situation that could be expected without the pandemic, 58% of the enterprises reported a negative impact on turnover (compared to 66% in the previous fortnight and 80% in April). In the Accommodation and food services and Transportation and storage sectors, the percentage of enterprises with decreases in turnover was more relevant (88% and 76%, respectively).
In the second quarter of 2020, the unemployment rate was 5.6%, 1.1 percentage points below the rate observed in the previous quarter (6.3% in the same period of 2019). The labour underutilisation was estimated at 748.7 thousand people (694.7 thousand in the previous quarter), corresponding to an increase in the labour underutilisation rate from 12.9% in the first quarter to 14.0% in the second quarter (12.4% in the second quarter of 2019). Total employment presented a year on year decrease of 3.8% (-0.3% in the first quarter), while active population registered a year on year decrease of 4.5% (rate of change of -0.4% in the previous quarter). In the second quarter, the volume of hours actually worked decreased by 26.1% in year-on-year terms and declined by 22.7% compared to the previous quarter. The reduction of the volume of hours actually worked is mainly associated to the increase of the employed population absent from work (22.8% of total employed population), due almost exclusively to the reduction or lack of work for technical or economic reasons (which includes the contract temporary suspension and layoff).
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) presented a year-on-year rate of change of 0.1% in July (identical rate of change in June), with a -0.2% rate of change in the goods component (-0.9% in the previous month) and 0.6% in the services component (less 1.0 percentage points than in preceding month).