Questioned about the rise in the inflation rate to 2.8% in August, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from July’s figure, according to the provisional estimate released on Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), Paulo Raimundo stated that the solution lies in addressing the “structural problem called wages and incomes, particularly salaries.”
“We also learned that the economy grew by 1.9% in the last quarter. Let’s be honest, 1.9% is not growth. It’s better than zero, but anything below 2% has no real impact on the economy or people’s lives. Therefore, unless we solve the wage issue, with a significant increase, a wage shock, as we’ve been proposing for so long, we’ll remain stuck in this situation,” argued the communist leader, speaking in Paredes, Porto district.
He continued, “Clearly, the issue of wages is not exactly about this, it’s fundamentally about prices. We all feel and know, regardless of our wages, that there has been a relentless increase in the cost of living.”
Further commenting on the topic, Paulo Raimundo emphasized that “inflation figures, as always, exclude an important part of people’s expenses, which is housing,” meaning that “other components, especially food prices, have risen exponentially, putting much pressure on people’s lives. So, while wage increases don’t solve everything, they do help people manage these numbers, as this has consequences.”
The data gathered by the INE, still subject to revision, indicates an acceleration in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
After a 2.64% difference in the index in July compared to the same month the previous year, the rate rose to 2.78% this month, according to the INE’s statistical summary.
The underlying inflation indicator—total index excluding unprocessed food and energy products—recorded a 2.5% variation from August of the previous year. This difference matches that of July.
“The variation in the index for energy products was -0.2% (-1.1% in July), and the index for unprocessed food products likely accelerated to 7.0% (6.1% the previous month),” details the INE.
The overall CPI variation from July (month-to-month) was negative, with a monthly difference of -0.2%. This decrease was smaller than the -0.4% recorded from June to July.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese Harmonized Consumer Price Index (HCPI), which allows for comparisons with other European countries, recorded a year-on-year variation of 2.5%, with the difference remaining “similar” to that of July.
The INE will publish the definitive inflation data for August on September 10, when it will be revealed whether the provisional figures remain unchanged or are revised.
