By Andrea Hargraves 
The rate of inflation rose again and reached 7.2% in April on an annual basis, according to the rapid estimate published by the National Institute of Statistics on Friday (andm in March the value was 5.3%).
According to the National Institute of Statistics, this disparity in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the highest since March 1993. Much of the boost came from products such as fuels.
According to INE, the estimate is that the annual rate of change in the index that includes energy products is 26.7% (19.8% in March), a value not seen since May 1985.
Unprocessed food products also saw an expressive rise, although less than energy products, with a difference in the index of 9.5% (5.8% in March).
The core inflation index, which does not take into account these two groups of products, “would have had a variance of 5% (3.8% in March),” the highest record since September 1995. Final values will be known on May 11.
The National Institute of Statistics states that “compared to the previous month, the CPI variance will be stable at 2.2% (2.5% in March and 0.4% in April 2021).” The average change in the last 12 months was 2.8% (an indicator that was 2.2% in March).
The months of March and April reflect the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that occurred at the end of February. The rise in inflation was already being felt since July of last year, when it reached 1%, but then accelerated towards the end of the year and after the war in Europe, reaching levels not seen in recent decades.
Regarding the Portuguese Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), this “will register an annual change of 7.4%” (5.5% in March). It is this indicator that makes it possible, after a few strokes, to make a comparison with other European countries.
That 7.4% brought Portugal closer to the eurozone average, which stood at 7.5% in the month under review, according to data released Friday by Eurostat. in March , The rate was 7.4%.
According to Eurostat, the energy products component had the most weight, with a variance of 38%, but down from 44.4% in March. The change in food, alcohol and tobacco was 6.4% (5% in March). The highest rate was recorded in Estonia, at 19%, surpassing Lithuania. Malta recorded the lowest change, at 4.9%.