The coincident monthly indicators for economic activity and private consumption increased again in December, compared to the previous month, following the trajectory that started in August, Banco de Portugal (BdP) announced this Friday.

The indicator for economic activity increased to -6,4 points, from -6,7 points recorded in November and the coincident indicator for private consumption also increased again to -2,1 points from -3,6 points recorded in the last month.

According to the BdP, the coincident indicators are “composite indicators that seek to capture the underlying evolution of the annual variation of the respective macroeconomic aggregate”.

Therefore, he says, they have a “smoother profile and are not intended to reflect, at each moment of time, the evolution of the annual rate of change of the respective aggregate of National Accounts”.

This behavior conditions the reading of the indicators in moments of inflection of the series.

The BdP also points out that the past values ​​of the coincident indicators, as well as the respective inflection points, can be revised due to either statistical revisions of the basic information or due to the incorporation of new information.