Costa announces extra inflation offset measures

Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa has announced that the government will adopt a new raft of measures in September to offset inflation which is currently running at over 8% and affecting businesses and families.

The prime minister justified the decision on the grounds of the continuing war with Ukraine.
“At the end of this quarter we will adopt a new package of measures to support families and companies”, said Costa at the start of the debate on the State of the Nation.
At the opening session, the prime minister also highlighted that the government had tackled rising inflation with three measures: “Containing energy prices where possible, supporting the production of those companies which were most exposed to its effects due to energy consumption, and supporting families”.
According to the prime minister, these measures will enable “a reduction of 3.7% on electricity bills for families in the regulated market” a “reduction of 18 percentage points on fuel duties, enabling savings of €16 on every 50 litres of petrol and €14 on diesel”.
There will also be a “reduced impact for companies and families from higher energy costs as a result of increased gas prices, gas being used in electricity production in the spot market” resulting in an “average daily saving of 18% in the first month of application”.