Retail sales vary -0.1% in February, according to IBGE
|
Period
|
Retail
|
Extended Retail
|
||
|
Sales amount
|
nominal income
|
Sales amount
|
nominal income
|
|
|
February / January*
|
-0,1
|
0,3
|
1,7
|
1,8
|
|
Quarterly moving average*
|
0,2
|
0,8
|
0,9
|
1,5
|
|
February 2023 / February 2022
|
1,0
|
7,5
|
-0,2
|
6,6
|
|
Accumulated 2023
|
1,8
|
9,3
|
0,1
|
7,8
|
|
Accumulated 12 months
|
1,3
|
13,6
|
-0,5
|
11,7
|
|
*Series WITH seasonal adjustment
|
||||
Source: IBGE
The sales volume of the expanded retail trade, which includes, in addition to retail, the activities of vehicles, motorcycles, parts and pieces and construction material, rose 1.7% compared to the previous month.
According to Marcos Sarmento Melo, finance specialist and director of Valorum Empresarial, the results obtained show stability. “Throughout 2022, we observed growth in economic activity in Brazil. What we are noticing now is that there is a certain stabilization of the economy, largely due to the inflation rate, which is still high”, he points out.
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According to the investigation, two of the eight retail trade activities had a positive change. “The only activities to record growth in this passage to February were those of pharmaceutical, orthopedic, medical and perfumery articles with 1.4% growth, and Books, newspapers, magazines and stationery 4.7%”, informs the manager of the Monthly Survey of Commerce (PMC), Cristiano Santos.
For César Bergo, professor of Financial Market at the University of Brasília (UnB), the highlight in the Books, newspapers and magazines category was due to the period that coincided with the beginning of school and academic activities. “Generally, it is common to increase the movement in this segment, and in the pharmaceutical sector as well. There was pressure in relation to a possible price increase, so people anticipate purchases, thus showing an improvement in this segment ”, he points out.
The negative rates were due to Equipment and supplies for office, IT and communication (-10.4%), Fabrics, clothing and footwear (-6.3%), Other articles of personal and domestic use, Furniture and household appliances (- 1.7%), Hyper, supermarkets, food products, beverages and tobacco (-0.7%) and Fuels and lubricants (-0.3%).
The two additional activities of broad retail had opposite results: Vehicles and motorcycles, parts and pieces (1.4%) and Construction material (-2.0%).
Projection for the coming months
According to Marcos Sarmento Melo, as the future of the Brazilian economy is also influenced by external issues, it is difficult to stipulate a projection for the coming months. “There is still the continuation of Russia’s war with Ukraine. There is also the situation of basic interest rates in important countries that are at high levels, as well as inflation”, he warns.
For this reason, he states that, in general, Brazilian economic activity in 2023 should not show a large variation, as well as retail trade, which will remain relatively stable.
For César Bergo, 2023 will be a difficult year for the Brazilian economy, but the outlook is positive for retail. “There are some important issues regarding 5G technology, improvement of infrastructure companies, which should favor sales in the communications area”, he points out.
According to economist Newton Marques, what leads to the general increase in sales in retail trade, in general, is the income of the Brazilian population. The increase in employment and income leads to positive prospects, but this depends on two fundamental factors: the reduction in the basic interest rate, the Selic, and the increase in the wage bill. “These impacts are very good, because every time the tertiary sector, which is the trade sector, shows growth, it pulls the primary and secondary sectors”, he explains.
By Brasil 61
