frequent questions
glossary
What is a basic bank account?
Access to the credit intermediary activity
List of authorised credit intermediaries
How to protect yourself from online fraud?
Know your rights when making payments in Europe.
Do you know what the gross domestic product is? What about inflation? (only in Portuguese)
Key tips to protect yourself when choosing online or mobile banking services.
Inflation is the broad-based and continuous increase in the prices of goods and services consumed by households.
There is inflation when the prices of goods (such as food and clothing) and services (such as transport and communications) that households acquire sustain a widespread and persistent increase.
For instance, a 2% inflation rate means prices in general are 2% higher than in the previous year. A household’s shopping basket that cost €100 a year ago now costs €102.
The inflation rate is the change over time in the cost of a basket of goods and services usually consumed by households residing in Portugal. The amount of goods and services considered for the basket is representative of its importance in the consumption of households residing in Portugal, making its cost, therefore, representative of household spending.
The cost of this basket is usually presented as a price index: the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Every month the CPI is calculated as the average of prices of goods and services included in the basket, weighted by their share in the basket.
With the CPI as a basis, the following rates are calculated:
Banco de Portugal’s website > What is inflation and why a 2% target?
Inflation > The importance of price stability
Inflation > How it affects your life