Portugal HICP Inflation At 4-month High

(RTTNews) - Portugal's EU measure of inflation unexpectedly accelerated in September and the index rose at the fastest pace in four months, data from the Statistics Portugal showed Monday.

The harmonized index of consumer prices rose 0.9 percent annually following a 0.7 percent climb each in July and August. Economists had expected a lower figure of 0.5 percent.

The latest increase was the biggest since May, when inflation was 1 percent.

Month-on-month, the HICP increased 0.7 percent in September, which was faster than the 0.4 percent economists had predicted.

The consumer price index rose 0.9 percent annually after a 0.7 percent increase in the previous month. It was also the fastest pace since May.

On a monthly basis, the CPI climbed 0.8 percent in September following a 0.3 percent drop in August.