Brazil: Consumer confidence rises in March

The consumer confidence index published by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV, Fundaçao Getúlio Vargas) rose a seasonally-adjusted 5.3% from the previous month in March. The index increased from 87.4 in February to 92.0 in March, the best reading since October 2017. The improvement was driven by consumers’ less pessimistic views regarding the current and future economic situations compared to the previous month.

The FGV confidence index spans a range from 1 to 200 points, where 100 points is considered neutral. Despite recent gains, the index still lies in pessimistic territory.

Brazil Private Consumption Forecast

Panelists surveyed for this month’s LatinFocus report expect private consumption to rise 2.9% in 2018, which is up 0.1 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2019, panelists expect private consumption to rise 3.0%.