Brazil: Retail sales growth loses pace in March
Retail sales increased 1.0% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in March (February: +1.3% mom). The reading was largely driven by a deterioration in supermarkets, food, drinks and tobacco sales. Further, textiles, clothing and footwear sales moderated, while furniture and appliances sales lost pace. In contrast, other articles for household and personal use sales gained steam.
On an annual basis, retail sales rose 4.0% in March, notably above February’s 1.3% expansion and marking the best result since July 2021. Accordingly, the trend improved modestly, with the annual average growth of retail sales coming in at 1.9%, up from February’s 1.7%.