On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.6%.
The INE alerted that the large majority of prices were
collected prior to an exemption of essential food items from
value-added tax this month, so the full impact of this measure
will only occur in May.
To help families tackle stubbornly high food prices that
are hitting households hard, the government has removed for six
months the VAT on a list of 46 essential goods, including milk,
bread, rice, tomatoes, and some types of meat and fish.
(Reporting by Patricia Vicente Rua and Gdansk Newsroom; Editing
by Andrei Khalip)
(Adds food, energy prices, background)
LISBON, April 28 (Reuters) - Portuguese consumer prices
rose 5.7% year-on-year in April in a significant slowdown from a
7.4% increase in the previous month, with food inflation showing
signs of abating, flash official data showed on Friday.
The National Statistics Institute (INE) said core inflation,
which strips out volatile food and energy prices, clocked 6.6%
year-on-year, down from a reading of 7.0% in March.
The decline in the main inflation rate was driven by lower
energy prices, which came at a negative 12.7% after -4.4% in
March, while prices of unprocessed food products rose 14.1%
year-on-year in April after spiking 19.3% the previous month.
Inflation has been slowly cooling off after peaking at
10.1% in October, the fastest pace of consumer price rises in
more than three decades.
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