Up 1.2% in May, Brazil’s trade grows for 5th month in a row
Trade sales increased 1.2 percent in May compared to April, marking the sector’s fifth consecutive month on the rise and bringing it to the highest volume in the current time series, which began in January 2000. With the results released by statistics bureau IBGE on Thursday (Jul. 11), the sector is up 5.6 percent year to date and 3.4 percent in the previous 12 months. Compared to May last year, Brazilian trade grew 8.1 percent.
Five of the eight activities surveyed were in the positive in May. The main boost came from hypermarkets and supermarkets, which saw a 0.7 percent increase in sales, marking the second month of growth in a row. The segment accounts for more than half (54.7%) of all trade sales.
Survey Manager Cristiano Santos classified the result as “quite strong.” Factors such as the increase in employment levels, the wage bill, and the granting of credit, he pointed out, help explain the positive outcome.
Furniture and household appliances (-1.2%); fuels and lubricants (-2.5%); and office, IT, and communications equipment and supplies (-8.5%) were in the negative.
