Portugal GDP Growth Slows Less Than Estimated, Inflation Accelerates

Portugal's economic growth eased less than initially estimated in the first quarter, the latest data from Statistics Portugal showed on Friday.

Separate official data revealed that consumer prices rose at a faster pace in May.

Gross domestic product, or GDP, advanced 1.5 percent year-on-year in the March quarter, slower than the previous quarter's increase of 2.1 percent. In the initial estimate, the rate of growth was 1.4 percent.

On a quarterly basis, GDP advanced 0.8 percent in the first quarter versus a 0.7 percent rise in the December quarter. The latest increase was revised up from 0.7 percent.

The positive contribution of domestic demand to the annual growth rate of GDP decelerated from 1.9 percent to 1.0 percent, with a slowdown in private consumption and investment.

The contribution of net external demand was favorable in the first quarter, with imports of goods and services slowing down more intensely than exports.

Consumer price inflation rose to 3.1 percent in May from 2.2 percent in the preceding month, flash data showed.

The core inflation, which excludes energy and unprocessed food products, also accelerated to 2.7 percent in May from 2.0 percent a month ago.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 0.2 percent in May, slower than the 0.5 percent growth in the previous month.

EU-harmonized inflation increased to 3.9 percent from 2.3 percent in April.

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