Brazil: Retail sales contract at sharpest rate since December 2020 in June
Retail sales declined 1.7% in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in June, which contrasted May’s 2.7% increase and marked the worst result since December 2020. The reading reflected a broad-based downturn across the major sectors, with supermarkets, food, drinks and tobacco, other articles for household and personal use, and clothing and footwear all contracting in June.
On an annual basis, retail sales grew 6.3% in June, which was well below May’s 15.9% expansion. Meanwhile, annual average retail sales growth rose to 5.9% in June (May: +5.4%), signaling an improving trend in the retail trade sector. Taken together, retail sales figures for April–June suggest healthy private consumption in the second quarter.