Trade
Pace of sales decreases, maintains recovery in February
April 12, 2018 09h00 AM | Last Updated: June 05, 2018 10h27 AM
According to the Monthly Survey of Trade, released today by the IBGE, the recovery of the retail trade decelerated in February, though it maintained the positive trend in sales. The sector registered a negative figure (-0.2%) compared with January, but rose 1.3% in relation to February 2017. The cumulative index over the last 12 months increased 2.8%.
"The indicator that clearly shows an upturn is the cumulative index over the last 12 months (rise of 2.8%). It signals an upturn started in October 2016 in virtually every activity", explains Isabella Nunes, manager of the survey. "Among the activities, super and hypermarkets exerted a big impact on the recovery, but also on the deceleration in February", completes her.
An upturn trend can also be noticed in the comparison with the same month a year ago. The last 11 results were positive, though that of February (1.3%) was the lowest one among them. In September, the rise reached 6.2%.
"It remains growing for the 11th month in a row, but it is the lowest one of these 11 figures. There was a reduction in the pace", explains her, also reminding the negative rate compared with January. "This happens because the recovery of the labor market is based on informal jobs, paying lower earnings and limited benefits. It also influences the retail trade", stresses Isabella.
In addition to the hesitant labor market, three sectors influenced the deceleration of the sector in February: "fuels and lubricants", "books, newspapers, magazines and stationery" and "fabric, apparel and footwear".
"Among them, fuels exerted the major negative impact, as the rising prices have been inhibiting the consumption", concludes Isabella.
