INE Confirms April Inflation at 3.3% Year-on-Year on Wednesday 13 May — Energy Climbs to 11.7% on Brent-and-Hormuz Pass-Through, Unprocessed Food at 7.4%, Core Print Lifts to 2.2% as the Headline Sits 0.3 Points Above the Eurozone Average

The Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE) confirmed Portugal's April 2026 Consumer Price Index on Wednesday 13 May 2026 at 3.3% year-on-year, a small downward revision from the 30 April flash estimate of 3.4% but still a sharp 0.6-percentage-point acceleration from March's 2.7% print. The April release is the first full reading after the Brent-and-Hormuz oil-price shock fed through the Portuguese retail fuel pump and the regulated gas tariff, and the composition of the print confirms that energy is doing most of the heavy lifting.

The Numbers

Headline CPI (YoY): 3.3% in April (vs 2.7% in March)
Headline CPI (MoM): +0.6 percentage points
Core inflation (ex-energy and unprocessed food): 2.2% (vs 2.0% in March)
Energy: 11.7% (vs roughly 5.7% in March — a 6-point jump)
Unprocessed food: 7.4% (vs 6.4% in March)
12-month moving average: 2.4% (vs 2.3% prior)
Harmonised Index (HICP): 3.3% — Portugal now 0.3 percentage points above the eurozone average

INE's Reading

The statistics institute pinned the headline acceleration squarely on energy: 'The acceleration of the Consumer Price Index is mainly explained by the increase in fuel prices.' That is the cleanest read of the Brent-and-Hormuz pass-through into Portuguese gasoline, diesel and bottled gas through April, before the Ministry of Finance's ISP fuel-tax adjustments and the ERSE regulated-tariff smoothing mechanisms had time to fully absorb the spike.

The print also lifts core inflation 20 basis points to 2.2%, a sign that the energy shock is starting to leak into broader price-setting — services, restaurants, and processed goods — and not just into the fuel and food lines. The 2.2% core is now back above the ECB's 2% target on a year-on-year basis after a brief dip through Q1.

The Eurozone Comparison

The harmonised reading puts Portugal at 3.3% versus a 3.0% eurozone average, a 30-basis-point gap that is the widest Portugal-versus-EZ wedge of the year. For most of 2025 Portugal printed below the EZ average; the April flip reflects the relatively larger weight of fuel and processed-food in the Portuguese consumer basket, plus a weaker base-effect tailwind that other EZ members enjoyed.

What This Means for Expats

Fuel at the pump: the April 11.7% energy print is already in the rear-view — but the May tape, on which the Ministério das Finanças will publish updated ISP fuel-tax brackets over the coming weeks, will determine whether the pass-through extends or fades. The latest weekly weekly ERSE smoothing mechanism on regulated gas tariffs will carry a portion of the household impact through the summer.
Supermarket basket: the unprocessed-food 7.4% print means seasonal vegetables, fruit, and fresh fish are running notably ahead of the headline — and the cabaz alimentar hit a fresh all-time high in DECO's most recent weekly read. Expect rotation to private-label and processed-food alternatives across May and June.
Restaurant and services pricing: the lift in core inflation from 2.0% to 2.2% signals that menu prices, gym subscriptions, hair salons and the wider services basket are reabsorbing wage and supply costs — the wage-cost data from INE's separate Q1 release shows corporate salary outlays up 5%.
Rental and contract escalators: the 12-month moving average ticking up to 2.4% feeds directly into the annual rent-revision coefficient that lands in the autumn — a higher 2.4% reading raises the headroom landlords will have to lift contracted rents in 2027.

The next CPI flash estimate for May lands at the end of the month. The macro question is whether the 11.7% energy print marks the peak — if Brent retraces and the Hormuz risk premium fades, June's flash should show the first easing.