Delay in the Release of Economic and Inflation Details by INE until 2nd of May
Rewritten Article:
Here's the lowdown on the recent postponement of some key economic indicators in Portugal. Announced on the INE page, the initial plan was to release the Consumer Price Index for April, the Quarterly National Accounts for Q1, and the Index of Business Volume, Employment, Remunerations, and Hours Worked in Commerce by April 30. But due to a massive power outage that hit Portugal on April 29, these highlights were pushed back to May 2.
The INE explained that the work couldn't be completed due to the outage.
Apart from these postponed stats, there are two other highlights - tourism activity and the Monthly Estimates of Employment and Unemployment for March – that will be published as scheduled on their respective dates.
Remember, on April 29, Portugal and Spain experienced a widespread power cut that started at 11:30, and there's still no word from the authorities on the reason behind it. The aftermath included closed airports, traffic gridlock in major cities, and fuel shortages - a real mess!
Good news though, the electricity distribution network operator E-Redes confirmed this morning that the service is fully restored and functioning smoothly as normal.
As for what happened, you might want to check out this article titled "PCP wants to debate the liberalization of energy in the PE after the blackout."
Now, if we delve deeper into this power outage, it seems likely that critical infrastructure like transportation and government operations were affected, potentially causing issues with data collection, processing, and dissemination systems. With power restored by April 29 and lingering effects on IT systems, staffing, and coordination possibly delaying finalization of data, a two-day delay to shift to May 2 makes sense.
However, it's essential to note that the IMF reports focus on global fiscal trends and not Portugal-specific scheduling issues. Keep this blackout in mind as you digest the updated release dates for these economic indicators.
- Due to the nationwide blackout in Portugal on April 29, the completion of key economic indicators, such as the Consumer Price Index for April, the Quarterly National Accounts for Q1, and the Index of Business Volume, Employment, Remunerations, and Hours Worked in Commerce, were delayed from April 30 to May 2.
- Although the widespread power outage affected Portugal's critical infrastructure, including transportation and government operations, the tourism activity and the Monthly Estimates of Employment and Unemployment for March will still be published on their scheduled dates.
- The electricity distribution network operator, E-Redes, confirmed that the service was fully restored and functioning smoothly as normal on the morning of April 29.
- Given the blackout's impact on data collection, processing, and dissemination systems, a two-day delay to shift to May 2 for the release of the economic indicators seems justifiable, considering the lingering effects on IT systems, staffing, and coordination.
