In the seasonally adjusted series, the Brazilian Retail Trade in May changed 0.5% in volume of sales and 1.0% in nominal revenue over April. As to the moving average, volume of sales changed -0.1%, whereas revenue increased 0.7%. In relation to May 2013, the changes were 4.8% for volume of sales and 11.4% for nominal revenue. The cumulative rates in the year and in the last 12 months stayed at 5.0% and 4.9% for volume of sales, and at 11.2% and 11.7% for nominal revenue, respectively.

Concerning the Extended Retail Trade, which comprises the retail trade plus the activities of Vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces and Construction material, the seasonally adjusted changes in relation to April were -0.3% for volume of sales and 0.4% for nominal revenue. In relation to the same month a year ago, there was an increase of 0.9% in volume of sales and of 7.0% in nominal revenue of sales. As to the cumulative rates, the increases were of 1.4% in the year and 2.2% in the last 12 months for  volume of sales, and of 6.9% and 7.8% for nominal revenue, respectively. More detailed information about the survey on https://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/indicadores/comercio/pmc/.

In May, eight of the ten activities surveyed recorded positive changes for volume of sales (seasonally adjusted). In order of importance of rates, the results were: Office, computer and communication material and equipment (2.4%); Other personal and household articles (2.4%); Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery (1.9%); Furniture and household appliances (1.8%); Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics (1.2%); Fabric, apparel and footwear (0.5%); Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (0.1%); Fuels and lubricants (0.1%); Construction material (-0.3%); and Vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces (- 1.9%) (Table 1).

In relation to May 2013 (seasonally adjusted), six of the eight activities of retail trade recorded increase of volume of sales: 3.1% for Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco ; 12.4% em Other personal and household articles ; 8.3% para Furniture and household appliances ; 10.0% for Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics ; 1.9% for Fuels and lubricants ; and 1.9% for fabric, apparel and footwear. The negative results were -3.2% for Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery; and -2.8% for Office, computer and communication material and equipment.

The segment of Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco, with change of 3.1% in volume of sales in relation to May in the previous year and it remains as the main impact on the formation of the retail trade rate, accounting for 31% (Table 3). The rise of the volume of sales this month is related to the increase of sales due to the celebration of Mother's Day. As for cumulative results, the activity grew 4.1% in the year and 3.4% in 12 months.

The activity Other personal and household articles, with increase of 12.4 in volume of sales in comparison with May 2013 (a two-digit change for the second consecutive month) accounted for the second main impact on the formation of the retail trade rate, being responsible for 26% of this result. Encompassing segments such as department stores, glasses shops, jewelry store, sporting goods stores, toy stores, etc., this activity had its performance stimulated by the celebration of Mother's Day. The cumulative change in the year was 10.0%, and in the last 12 months, 10.2%.

The volume of sales of Furniture and houlsehold appliances increased 8.3% in relation to May 2012, accounting for the third main impact (22%) on the retail trade rate. Despite the deceleration of credit rise, the activity in May surpassed the average of the sector, as a result of the sales on Mother's day and the increased sales of terlevision sets for the World Cup¹. The cumulative rates were 6.1% in the year and 5.8% in the last 12 months.

Pharmaceuticals, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics, with the fifth biggest participation in the formation of the overall retail rate (14%) increased by 10.0% in terms of volume of volume of sales in comparison with may 2013; by 10.5% cumulative in the first five months of the year; and 10.7% cumulative in the last 12 months. The behavior of medicine prices, which rose 3.8% in 12 months (versus 6.4% of the overall IPCA), and also the essential nature of this item, account for the good performance and prices above average of this segment.

The activity Fuels and lubricants, with rate of 1.9% in volume of sales in relation to May 2013, accounted this month for the fifth biggest contribution to the overall retail trade rate. The cumulative index in the year reached 5.5%, and, in the last 12 months, 6.2%, thus keeping the segment above the overall average. One of the factors accounting for this behavior was the change of fuel prices (a cumulative 4.4% in the last 12 months, versus IPCA of 6.4%).

The volume of sales of Fabric, apparel and footwear increased 1.9% in relation to May last year, representing the sixth biggest impact on the formation of the overall rate. This positive performance, after two months of decrease, occurred due to the increase of sales related to the celebration of Mother's Day. The cumulative index in the year decreased -0.4%, and in the last 12 month, it increased 1.7%.

The segment of Office, computer and communication material and equipment, responsible for the main negative impact on the overall rate, recorded decrease in terms of volume of sales, of about -2.8% over that of the same month a year ago. The cumulative index in the year was -1.9%, and in the last 12 months, 4.8%. Among the factors which accounted for this performance, the highlights were the deceleration of credit increase and the rise of personal computer prices, which, in the last 12 months, had cumulative increase of 4%, according to IPCA.

The activity Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery fell -3.2% and accounted for the fifth biggest influence on the overall results of retail trade. It was the third consecutive month with decrease in relation to the same month a year ago. The downward trend of this activity has been influenced by the rise of prices of stationery items, whose cumulative change in 12 months reached 9.1%, surpassing the overall average of 6.4%, according to IPCA. The volume of cumulative sales also fell in the year (-4.7%) and in the last 12 months (-2.1%).

Extended retail trade, which includes retail trade and the activities of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces and Construction material, recorded decrease of -0.3% over the previous month (seasonally adjusted result) and change of -0.9% in relation to May 2013, after two months with negative results between years. This performance reflects, above all, the behavior of sales of Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, which presented decrease of -1.9% over April 2014 (seasonally adjusted) and of -6.3% in relation to May 2013. The cumulative rates of this activity were -5.6% in the year and -3.6% in 12 months. The deceleration of credit increase and of consumption account for this behavior.

The segment of Construction material presented the following changes for volume of sales: -0.3% over the previous month (seasonally adjusted), 2.1% in relation to May 2013 and 3.4% ad 5.4% cumulative in the year and in the last 12 months, respectively. The reduction of IPI for a basket of products in the sector and the favorable conditions of housing credit, which, according to the Central Bank of Brazil, has remained on an upward trend, have contributed to this behavior.

RESULTS BY AREA

In relation to May 2013, all the Federation Units recorded positive results, the main ones in Acre (16.5%); Tocantins (14.4%); Rondônia (14.1%); Amapá (10.1%) and Ceará (9.3%) (Graph 5). As for the participation of states in the composition of the overall rate, the highlights were São Paulo (3.4%); Rio de Janeiro (5.2%); Rio Grande do Sul (5.7%); Bahia (7.9%) and Minas Gerais, with 3.7%.

The seasonally adjusted results by Federation Unit with seasonal adjustment for volume of sales increased in twenty-two states. The biggest changes occurred in Acre (16.1%); Amazonas (5.1%); Bahia (3.8%); Rondônia (3.7%); and Tocantins (2.9%). The biggest decreases occurred in Amapá (-2.9%); Espírito Santo (-0.9%) and São Paulo (-0.4%).

In Extended retail trade , twenty-five of the 27 Federation Units recorded positive changes. The biggest rates in terms of volume of sales occurred in Acre (15.8%); Rondônia (14.8%); Paraíba (14.3%); Tocantins (10.5%) and Amazonas (9.3%). Two states recorded negative change: São Paulo (-4.0%) and Paraná (-2.3%). As for participation in the composition of the overall result of the sector, the highlights were the states of Rio Grande do Sul (5.4%; Rio de Janeiro (2.4%); Santa Catarina (4.8%); Ceará (8.4%) and Pernambuco, with 5.7%.

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¹ According to the Central Bank, the credit balance with free resources, cumulative in 12 months, changed from 16.1% in May 2013 to 5.7% in May this year. Nevertheless, the same source shows there was increase of the use of payroll loans and credit cards, when May and April 2014 are com