IBGE

Retail sales increased 3.1%. Fall of inflation, reduction of interest and release of withdrawals from FGTS accounts influenced the result

Faced with the recovery of the economy, retail sales in July registered the fourth consecutive monthly growth. Data released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), released on Tuesday (12), show that there was a 3.1% increase compared to the same period of the previous year - the best result for this type of comparison since 2013.

Furniture and household appliances, fabrics and footwear, office supplies and construction material were primarily responsible for the positive performance of the period. Part of this upward movement in sales was influenced by falling inflation, lower interest rates, and the government measure that released the loot of inactive accounts from the FGTS.

"These data show consistent retail growth that is evidenced by the accumulated from January to July, which shows a growth of 0.3%," observed Isabella Nunes, the IBGE research technician. The indicator still showed positive results in other cuts. In the quarterly moving average, the increase was of 0.4%; compared to June, the survey showed stability in sales.

Among all the segments observed by IBGE, only fuels and lubricants showed a decrease compared to July of last year. The best performance of the period was garments and footwear, which grew 15.5%; the second place was with furniture and appliances, with 14.8%.

States

The numbers show that the advance was widespread among the units of the Federation. Compared with July 2016, 20 out of 27 registered growth. The highlights were Santa Catarina (14.2%) and Alagoas (10.3%).