Portugal’s annual inflation rate held at 2.7% in March 2026, the highest since August 2025, as the Middle East conflict continued to roil global energy markets. Energy prices surged 5.7%, marking the first increase in six months and the main driver of the rise. Processed food inflation accelerated to 1.4% (up from 0.9% in February), while unprocessed food price growth eased slightly to 6.4% (from 6.7%). Services inflation remained steady at 3.4%. The core inflation rate, which strips out volatile energy and unprocessed food costs, edged up to 2% from 1.9%, pointing to widening price pressures across the economy.