Rio de Janeiro, July 7 (EFE).- Retail sales in Brazil will increase by 4.5% this year, their best progress in 9 years, according to projections published this Wednesday by the National Confederation of Commerce, Goods, Services. services and tourism (CNC) .
Employer expectations for 2021 have been adjusted from 3.9% to 4.5%, representing the industry’s best annual growth since 2012, when it grew by 8.4%.
According to data released this Wednesday by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), retail trade increased by 1.4% in May compared to April and by 16% compared to May last year. . In the first five months of 2021, the sector accumulates a profit of 6.8%.
Although the volume of sales in May rose less than expected – in April, the increase was 4.9% – the trend is for consumption to remain active throughout the year, according to the CNC.
Since April 2020 – when sales for the sector fell 17% and made it the worst month for Brazilian retail in its history – there has been a 58% drop in consumer concentration compared to the period pre-pandemic. By June of this year, this concentration had fallen to 18.7%.
According to José Roberto Tadros, president of the CNC, if the basic interest rate does not increase beyond what is expected, “the figures could be even better”, because the increase in the mobility of people “favours gradually respite. trade and services sector.
In mid-June, the Central Bank raised the base interest rate by 0.75 percentage points, to 4.25% per annum, the third increase in 2021, in a bid to control rising inflation in the country, which is now above 8% per year. -on-year.
In May alone, prices rose 0.83%, the highest result for that month since 1996.
Between January and May, cumulative inflation reached 3.22%, while the target for this year is 3.75% with a tolerance margin of 1.5 point upwards or downwards (between 2 .25% and 5.25%).
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