Brazil retail sales rise for 6th month in a row



A woman walks past a store’s showcase in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Aug. 12, 2015. (Xinhua/Rahel Patrasso)

Brazil’s retail sales, an engine of economic growth, rose 0.1 percent in October compared to the previous month, marking six months in a row of increases, the state statistics agency IBGE reported on Wednesday.

Compared to October of last year, retail sales grew 4.2 percent.

In the first 10 months of the year, the sector accumulated a 1.6-percent increase, while the figure for the 12 months to October is 1.8 percent.

It looks like retail sales will close the year on a higher note than when the year began in January, the IBGE said.

The agency traced the positive numbers “to a better outlook for consumption” thanks to “an improvement in the job market, despite the fact that informal labor predominates.”

Six of eight consumer categories registered an increase in sales in October, led by office equipment and supplies, computers and communication devices.

Food and beverage, and tobacco products saw a slight decrease in sales of 0.1 percent, as did books, newspapers, magazines and stationery supplies, 1.1 percent.

This six-month trend points to a recovery of Brazil’s economy, which stagnated in the first quarter of 2019, but picked up by 0.5 percent in the second quarter and 0.6 percent in the third.

Brazil’s financial market has forecast 1.1-percent growth for the year, the same as in 2017 and 2018.