Brazil: Retail sales growth moderates in August
Retail sales rose 3.4% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in August, a softer expansion than July’s 5.0% increase. That said, the result came in above market analyst’s expectations of a 3.1% rise.
Looking at the details of the release, supermarkets, food, drinks and tobacco sales fell in August. In addition, fuels and lubricants, as well as furniture and appliances sales sales lost pace compared to the previous month. Meanwhile, textiles, clothing and footwear sales gained steam.
On an annual basis, retail sales rose at a quicker rate of 6.1% in August (July: +5.5% yoy), the best result since March 2018. Accordingly, the trend improved with the annual average growth of retail sales coming in at 0.5%, up from July’s 0.1% reading.