Trade sales increased for the eighth consecutive month, having reached cumulative increases of 9.74% in the year and of 4.76% in the last 12 months. The volume of sales of Brazilian retail trade increased in almost all the 27 Federation Units: the only exception was Amapá, with decrease of 1.70%.

In July, retail trade in Brazil kept a sequence of positive results, with rise of 16.60 in nominal revenue of sales, and of 12.04% in volume of sales, in relation to July/03 (Graph 1). The cumulative index in the year reached 11.77% in terms of nominal trade and of 9.74% in terms of volume. The cumulative index of the last 12 months the rates were, respectively, 11.65% and 4.67%.

The increase of retail was widespread once more, and reached 26 of the 27 Federation Units regarding volume of sales. In the comparison between July 2004 and July 2003, the highest rates were those of Rondônia (45.52%), Acre (29.43%), Mato Grosso (28.64%), Amazonas (24.79%), Mato Grosso do Sul (19.66%) and Maranhão (19.56%). The main contributions to the overall retail rate came from São Paulo (12.38%), Minas Gerais (11.32%), Rio Grande do Sul (10.55%), Rio de Janeiro (7.00%), Paraná (12,07%) and Santa Catarina (14.64%). The only negative rate of the sector was that of Amapá (-1.70%).

São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the main areas accounting for the national revenue of retail trade, had, in July, different paces of increase. Whereas in São Paulo retail trade remained around the average, with change of 12.38% in the volume of sales this month, in Rio de Janeiro the rate remained on a downward trend, anbd fell from 12.77%, in May, to 9.21%, in June, and 7.00%, in July. This behavior, in the last twelve months, caused Rio de Janeiro to fall from its position as the second main contributor to the overall retail trade rate. In the months of June and July, this position was taken by Minas Gerais, with 15.09% and 11.32%, respectively. 

In June, in comparison with July 2003, there was increase of volume of sales of all the activities which consider the sample database selected in 2000 (chain-linked series). In most of them, however, increase decelerated. Furniture and household appliances and Vehicles, motorcycles, pieces and accessories kept the highest monthly rates: 32.22% and 22.44% respectively (Table 1), followed by Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (10.35%), Textiles, apparel and footwear (7.92%) and Fuels and lubricants (3.65%). 

Among the new activities surveyed (database in the 2003 sample), in the comparison between July 2004 and July 2003, there was increase of Office, computer and communication material and equipment 921.66%), Other articles of personal and domestic use(17.62%); Construction material (8.17%) and Pharmaceutical, medical and orthopedic articles, toiletries and cosmetics (7.64%). The only decrease: Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (-4.55%). 

Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (10.35% of increase of volume of sales in July) represented the main impact on the overall retail trade rate, replacing Furniture and household appliances, which had been the leader since the start of the year. In all comparisons, the activity Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco recorded increase, evidencing a more favorable scenario in terms of employment and real income. Between June and July, volume of sales grew from 8.91% to 10.35% in terms of the monthly indicator; from 5.40% to 6.11% in terms of the cumulative index in the year, and from 0.93% to 2.23%, in the last 12 months.

The activity Hypermarkets and supermarkets, which gathers the biggest units of this segment, has been slightly above the rest of the group, with hikes of 10.77% in relation to July in the previous year, 6.26% cumulative in the first seven months of the year and 2.34% cumulative in the last 12 months. The activity Furniture and household appliances, despite retraction of the rate, keeps surpassing a figure of 30% increase: it reached 32.22% in July, versus 36.25% in the previous month, both rates versus the same month in 2003. In July, however, the activity left its position as the main responsible for the monthly increase of retail, being replaced by Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco which, this month, joins the acceleration of its performance rate to its importance to the structure of national retail. In terms of the cumulative indicators, the group Furniture and household appliances remains as the main contributor to the overall rate of the sector, with hikes of 29.83% and 20.26% cumulative in the year and in the last 12 months, respectively. 

The activity Textiles, apparel and footwear (7.92% more in volume of sales in July verus July 2003), had its rate of increase reduced to half of that of June (14.13%). This deceleration affected the cumulative index of the year, which was 5.81% in May, to 7.33% in June and 7.42% in July. The cumulative index in 12 months saw a reduced impact of deceleration: from 0.03% in May to 1.51% in June and 2.68% in July.

The segment of Fuels and lubricants also led to deceleration of the increase of volume of sales in July: 3.65% versus 7.84% in June, due to the rise of prices of fuels in the period June-July (7.4% according to IPCA). The cumulative index in the year also fell from 7.27% to 6.70% between June and July whereas, in the same period, the cumulative index in 12 months also remained on an upward trend: from 1.3% to 1.87%. The 22.44% increase of sales volume in the comparison July 2004/July 2003 caused the segment Vehicles, motorcylces, pieces and accessories to have the second best performance in the month. The cumulative index of the activity in the year and in the last 12 months were, respectively, 17.51% and 9.26%.

In July, among the new segments surveyed, volume of sales of Office, computer and communication material and equipment remained as a highlight (21.66% over July 2003), but with significant decrease in the monthly rate of increase (39.16% in June) (Table 2). The cumulative index in the year was 26.67%. 

Volume of sales of Pharmaceutical, medical and orthpedic artilces, toiletries and cosmetics increased 7.64% over the figure of July 2003 and 10.32% in the cumulative index in the year. Other articles of personal and domestic use increased 17.62% over July 2003, with cumulative increase of 19.58% in the year. Construction material, with monthly increases of 8.17% in July and 9.66% in the previous month, confirms the recovery of volume of sales after a start of year with negative rates and has recorded, in the year, cumulative positive changes for the second consecutive month: 0.91% in June and 1.98% in July. The only decrease in July occurred in Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles, with monthly and yearly cumulative rates in the year of -4.55% and -1.76%, respectively.