Portuguese inflation falls to 2.8% in 2012: official data

Portuguese inflation fell sharply in 2012 to 2.8 percent from 3.7 percent in 2011, official data showed on Friday.

The national statistics institute Ine which published the data said that in December the rate of 12-month inflation was 1.9 percent as in November.

The slowing of the rate of price increase reflected mainly a slowing of price rises for energy, Ine said.

Energy prices rose by 9.6 percent last year, compared with a rise of 12.7 percent in 2011.

On a monthly basis, prices showed zero increase in December after a decline of 0.3 percent in November.

On a eurozone harmonised basis, prices also rose by 2.8 percent in 2012 after an increase of 3.6 percent in 2011.

The government, which is enacting big tax increases and spending cuts in return for bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund and European Union, expects inflation this year to be 0.9 percent.