This Monday, the PS general secretary said that his party’s election program is “very cautious” in its macroeconomic forecasts and that a possible inflation crisis will not jeopardize public accounts.
“We have presented a very cautious macroeconomic scenario, with great caution, unlike the AD, which believes in the miracle of the financial shock that they want to bring to Portugal, we prefer to create a macroeconomic scenario that, even in conditions of uncertainty, does not leave us in a difficult position government reports of the situation,” Pedro Nuno Santos told reporters who this Monday visited in Entroncamento, Santarem, renovation work on 40 houses that will be put up for sale at affordable rents.
The PS leader reacted to confirmation from the National Statistical Institute (INE) that the annual inflation rate increased to 2.3% in January, up 0.9 percentage points from December, driven by electricity prices and the end of zero VAT, by repeating that ” precautionary measure.” became the basis of the socialist program for the March 10 elections, presented on Sunday in Lisbon.
“This has always been our challenge: developing a cautious scenario, obviously prepared to face uncertainty,” said Pedro Nuno Santos, noting that “not all parties deal with crises in the same way.”
The Secretary General of the PS believed that “under AD, the same people always suffer,” in contrast to the socialists, who strive for “respect for the people, security and stability of their income.”
“These are two completely different ways of dealing with the crisis that the country is facing,” he said.
The rate of change in the Consumer Price Index (IPC) reported today by INE, rounded to one decimal place, confirms the value of the quick estimate released on 31 January.
“This acceleration is partly explained by rising energy prices and the removal of VAT exemptions on a number of basic food products,” says INE, estimating that the impact of the removal of zero VAT on the change in the overall CPI was 0.7. percentage points.
In the food and non-alcoholic beverages class, despite the base effect associated with the price increase recorded in January 2023 (1.9%), an increase of 2.8% recorded in January 2024, partly due to the abolition of zero VAT, led to an increase in the corresponding change year on year from 1.7% in December to 2.7% in January.
“Prices in this category are 27.2% higher than the average price level for 2021,” INE notes.
In terms of energy, January saw a 2.0% month-on-month price increase, contrasting with the 8.9% decline recorded in the same month in 2023, resulting in a positive year-on-year trend for that unit. , after 10 months of negative rates.
According to INE, prices for this unit in January were 14.5% above the 2021 average and 0.2% above the January 2023 level.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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