Brazil: Retail sales rebound in January
Retail sales (excluding cars and construction) rose 0.9% from the previous month in seasonally-adjusted terms in January, which contrasted December’s revised 0.5% decrease (previously reported: -1.5% month-on-month). The result overshot market analysts’ expectations of a smaller 0.6% expansion.
January’s rebound was largely due to a turnaround in sales of food, beverages and tobacco. In addition, sales of fuels fell at a more modest pace than in the previous month.
On an annual basis, retail sales increased 3.2% in January, which was below December’s 3.9% growth. The trend continued to improve and annual average growth came in at 2.5% in January (December: +2.1%).