Porto, Portugal, March 13, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal's minister of the economy and territorial cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, gave assurances on Friday that the Government is “closely monitoring” price trends and will take action if price rises persist “for more than four or five weeks”.
“The Government is monitoring the prices of various products, including petrol and petroleum products, every day, and we are constantly considering measures that may need to be taken should these changes prove to be structural in nature,” the minister told journalists in Porto, on the sidelines of the signing of funding contracts for 12 tourism projects under the “Growing with Tourism” programme.
Stating that no new measures had been decided upon at this stage apart from the current discount on the Tax on Petroleum Products (ISP), Castro Almeida clarified, however, that “if these [price] changes persist over time, for more than four or five weeks, they become a structural problem that may require state intervention”.
“If the war ends quickly, there will be no structural problem. If the war drags on, then government intervention is justified,” he added.
In the specific case of fuel, which is set to rise by a further 10 cents next week, the minister stressed that “the Government took measures in the very first days of the war to adjust the tax system for petrol and diesel in order to mitigate price rises” and “not to derive fiscal advantages from the war” in Iran.
He explained that the aim is to maintain the current policy of deducting from the price of petrol and diesel, via the ISP, “the entire amount paid in excess of 10 cents” (per litre) compared to the price in force before the war began.
Asked whether Portuguese tourism might benefit from a shift in routes away from the Middle East, Manuel Castro Almeida stated that “objectively, that is true” and added that “we are already beginning to see an increase in demand and bookings” across the country.
“This does not legitimise the war; we do not want war to boost tourism, but objectively there is an increase in demand that is already beginning to be felt due to the effect of the war,” he said.
The war was triggered by the large-scale offensive launched against Iran by the United States and Israel on 28 February.
Iran responded with attacks on neighbouring countries and on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
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