Brazil: Retail sales jump at record rate in May
Retail sales jumped 13.9% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in May, rebounding from the 16.3% contraction in April. May’s reading marked the strongest increase on record and beat the 6.0% rise expected by market analysts.
May’s notable upturn largely reflected the easing of social distancing measures, which were put in place in March and came on the back of rebounds in sales under the categories of supermarkets, food, drinks and tobacco, and other articles for household and personal use. Moreover, sales of textiles, clothing and footwear, as well as of furniture and appliances, rose sharply.
On an annual basis, retail sales fell at a softer rate of 7.2% in May (April: -17.1% yoy). Meanwhile, the trend pointed down, with the annual average variation of retail sales coming in at 0.0% in May, down from April’s plus 0.7%.