SYSNTHESIS INE@COVID-19, 4-may-2020

www.ine.pt page 02/12 Communication Unit | tel: +351 21 842 61 00 | sci@ine.pt As a consequence, Eurostat and the National Statistical Authorities, within the European Statistical System, are working together and providing methodological guidance for official statistics on the issues triggered by COVID-19. In all Member States, Eurostat and the National Statistical Authorities thank households and enterprises for continuing to respond to statistical surveys thus being a privileged source of information forofficial statistics, that are necessary for taking decisions to protect European citizens and to face the economic and social impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite these exceptional circumstances, Eurostat and the EU National Statistical Authorities are doing their best to continue to publish official statistics, as always based on transparency in the quality of results and following national and Eurostat dissemination calendars (changes to these calendars will be duly announced). In Portugal, there are also difficulties in the collection of primary information, which has also implied the necessary change from face-to-face collection modes to telephone and Internet, the search for new methodological and software solutions, and the use of new data sources. The challenge of properly assessing the social and economic impact of the pandemic has also led to the inclusion of new questions in regular surveys, the conduct of new surveys, and the study of new subjects and perspectives for analysis and dissemination. These have also been the challenges and responses of the European Statistical Community, with whom we have been aligned. SYNTH SIS May . 4 . 2020 IN @ COVID-19 Guidelines and methodological notes in the context of the COVID-19 crisis: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/data/metadata/covid-19-support-for-statisticians Consumer confidence and economic climate indicators reveal significant reductions In April, the Consumer confidence indicator reached its minimum value since May 2013 and registered the highest decrease compared to the previous month. The economic climate indicator declined sharply in April compared to the previous month, registering the largest reduction in this series and leading to a new minimum. In April, the Consumer confidence indicator recorded the largest monthly decrease since September 1997, reaching the minimum value since May 2013. All the series that composes the indicator registered significant decreases, and in the case of expectations regarding the evolution of the country's economic situation and major purchases, the minimum values of these series were also reached in April.