Brazil: Retail sales rebound in February
Retail sales rose 0.6% in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in February, which contrasted January’s 0.2% decrease. February’s figure was largely driven by a rebound in supermarkets, food, drinks and tobacco sales as well as in textiles, clothing and footwear sales. Moreover, furniture and appliances sales also returned to growth in February.
On an annual basis, retail sales dropped 3.8% in February, which was notably greater than January’s 0.4% fall and marking the worst result since May 2020. Moreover, the trend pointed down, with the annual average growth of retail sales coming in at 0.4%, down from January’s 1.1% reading.