(Reuters) – Portugal’s economy grew at an unprecedented pace, rising to 11.9% from a year ago. This was in stark contrast to Europe which saw a decline in private consumption and rebounding tourist.

The National Statistics Institute’s second reading of quarterly gross domestic product confirmed Tuesday that its flash estimates, released one month ago, included a quarter-on-quarter growth of 2.6%, compared to 1.7% for the fourth quarter in 2021.

Paulo Rosa senior economist at Banco Carregosa stated, “The numbers show that Portugal is leading the euro zone in terms growth. It’s being supported by increased private consumption as well as a solid recovery of tourism activity. These factors should support growth during the summer.”

However, he warned that “if high inflation persists, this will pose a serious risk to economic growth. Not least because of the European Central Bank’s expected increase in interest rates.

Separately, INE stated that May saw consumer prices rise by 8% year on year. It was the fastest rate of inflation since February 1993. The increase in energy and commodities prices due to Russia’s invasion, according to the INE.

Portugal’s government reduced its outlook for economic growth in 2019 to 4.9% last month, citing the inflationary effect of the conflict with Ukraine. It did so in accordance with 2020’s recovery from the pandemic-induced downturn.

According to the INE, private consumption increased by 2.2% in January and March compared with the three previous months. It also soared 12.6% compared with a year ago. Investment grew respectively 3.3% and 5.8%.

Due to strong recovery of services after the COVID-19 restrictions, exports rose 1.7% in the last quarter and 18.3% in the year-ago period.