Both changes refer to the October/September comparison, with seasonal adjustment. In the remaining comparisons (without adjustment) the sales rates were: 6.95% in relation to October 2005; 5.94% accumulated in the year, and 5.75% accumulated in the last 12 months. Nominal revenue had rates of 6.93% versus the same month in 2005; 7.34% accumulated in 2006; and 7.55% accumulated in the last 12 months.

The change of volume of sales in October, 0.51%, reflects reduction of the rhythm of growth of trade in relation to the previous month. However, this change was not enough to alter the growing trend observed since August. 

Still with reference to the adjusted series, calculated for four of the eight activities which form the sector, there were two positive results: Furniture and household appliances (0.46%) and Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (0.46%). The activities Textiles, apparel and footwear and Fuels and lubricants had rates of -2.93% and -0.56%, respectively. The segment Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces, which belongs to extended retail trade, had positive change of 0.71% compared to the September rate.

In the comparison October 06/October 05, six of the eight retail activities had increase of the volume of sales, whose rates, by order of importance to the overall result, were 6.06% for Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco; 18.10% for Furniture and household appliances; 21.96% for Other articles of personal and domestic use; 24.90% for Office material, computer and communication equipment; 4.69% for Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles and cosmetics; 5.29% for Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles. The activities which had falling rates were Textiles, apparel and footwear (-0.96%) and Fuels and lubricants (-5.71%).

Hypermarkets, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (6.06% in relation to October 2005) accounted for almost half of the overall retail rate. This performance reflects the improvement of the average income of workers, as well as the increase of employment with a formal contract, whose changes in relation to October, according to the Monthly Employment Survey (PME), were 5.4% and 6.7%, respectively. In the first ten months of 2006, the activity reached a rate of 7.47% in relation to the same period of 2005, having accumulated increase of 6.44% in the last twelve months.

In October, the segment Furniture and household appliances (18.10%) accounted for the second major impact on the result of retail trade. Benefited by the continuation of favorable conditions to consumer credit, and by the fall of prices due to the competition with imported products, this activity increased by 10.49% and by 10.67% in terms of rates accumulated in the year and in the last 12 months, respectively.

The activity Other articles of personal and domestic use (21.96%) was the third major impact on the formation of retail rate. Encompassing segments such as department stores, glasses shops, jewelry shops, toy stores, etc, the performance of this activity has been affected by both the favorable conditions to consumer credit and the growth of salary mass. The accumulated results were: 16.91% in the year, and 16.80% in the last 12 months.

Office, computer and communication equipment (24.90%) was the fourth major impact on the result of retail trade. The growth of the activity resulted from the fall of prices (especially of computer products) and of the improvement of income. The rates in the first ten months of the year and in the last 12 months reached, respectively, 33.71% and 40.44%.

Being the fifth most important contribution to the overall rate, the activity Pharmaceutical, medical, orthopedic and perfumery articles (4.69% in the monthly comparison) increased by 4.02% in terms of the rate accumulated in the year and 4.95% relative to the rate accumulated in the last 12 months. Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery articles (5.29%) finished the group of positive results in the formation of the overall rate of retail trade. The increases of 1.54% accumulated in the year and 1.20% in the last twelve months show that the activity has had the lowest positive results in 2006.

The sales of the segment Textiles, apparel and footwear fell again in October (-0.96%), a result which places the activity as the one with the lowest growth rate accumulated in the year (1.42%). In terms of rates accumulated in the last 12 months, the change rate was  about 3.06%. The activity Fuels and lubricants reached the 22^nd consecutive month with a negative result in terms of sales (-5.71%). This performance shows, however, a slight reduction of the fall in comparison with the September rate, which can be attributed to the fall of fuel prices in the last few months. Considering accumulated results, the changes were -8.88% this year and -8.71% in the last 12 months. 

The table below shows the rates for nominal revenue of sales in October. 

In the analysis by area, 25 of the 27 Federative Units (UF) had positive results in terms of volume of sales, in the comparison October 06/October 05, with main changes occurring in Acre (35.83%), Alagoas (33.70%), Amapá (29.34%), Roraima (26.05%) and Maranhão (20.03%). The two falling results occurred in Mato Grosso (-11.02%) and Sergipe (-3.31%). In terms of the participation in the formation of the rate of retail trade, the highlights, in order, were: São Paulo (6.48%), Minas Gerais (12.24%), Rio de Janeiro (7.40%), Bahia (8.60%) and Rio Grande do Sul (4.01%).

The results with seasonal adjustment for volume of sales indicate, in comparison with September 2006, tem Federative Units with positive changes and 17 with falling results. The main increases were those in Alagoas (4.80%), Maranhão (2.69%), Mato Grosso do Sul (2.23%) and Ceará (1.21%). The main decreases were those in Rio Grande do Norte (-4.34%), Federal District (-3.42%), and Roraima (-3.03%). 

Extended Retail Trade

For extended retail trade, formed by retail trade and the activities of Vehicles, motorcyles, parts and pieces, the changes observed in the comparison October 06/October 05 were 10.60% for volume of sales and 9.94% for nominal revenue of sales. In terms of rates accumulated in the year and in the last 12 months, the sector had change rates of 6.05% and 5.54% for volume of sales and 7.46% and 7.38% for nominal revenue, respectively.

In relation to sales, Vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces grew by 17.71% in relation to October 2005. Considering rates accumulated in the year and in the last 12 months, the changes reached 6.54% and 5.65%, respectively. Construction material had its sixth consecutive month of growth, with change of 14.96% over October 2005, reflecting the measures stimulating the growth of construction industry. The accumulated rates were 4.58%, from January to October, and 3.02%, in the last 12 months.

By Federative Unit, the highest performance rates for volume of sales were those in Acre (73.17%), Amapá (57.95%), Rondônia (46.29%), Pará (41.38%) and Roraima (41.19%). In terms of impact on the overall result of the sector, the highlights were São Paulo (7.52%), Minas Gerais (14.67%), Rio de Janeiro (9.16%), Paraná (8.46%) and Rio Grande do Sul (5.98%).