Services Confidence Index rises by 0.7 points in April; Trade registers drop of 3.3 points

In the evaluation of economist Riezo Almeida, inflation and high interest rates have contributed to the low purchasing power of families. “Consumer confidence has sagged, considering, mainly, that some social classes, mainly the C class, are increasingly indebted”, he points out.

“Inflation has yet to drop sharply and interest rates are high. This means that the population today does not have as much credit to seek, so this class is now looking for food as the main destination of their income”, adds Almeida.

In the quarterly moving averages in the commerce sector, there was an increase of 0.3 points, the first positive result after five falls. In the service sector, the index rose by 1.0 point.

According to the economist, the growth and fall of confidence indices in sectors is also a reflection of changes in behavior and household consumption.

“This research was very focused on classes. And the lower class today has less access to services, because there is no money left, but the upper class continues to consume these types of services. People also changed their household consumption behavior. More and more people are looking for services, they ask for services at home, so this is what we call the platforming of services”, she explains.

In the medium term, the economist predicts that the economic scenario should change. “The medium-term trend is yes, change. According to the Central Bank’s Focus Bulletin, the medium-term trend is to lower interest rates. With that, you will have more credit, having more credit, more money in the economy. The tendency is for these indicators to improve. In addition, there is also a tendency for inflation to stabilize more”, he says.

Data from the FGV also point out that the fall in the trade confidence index in April was disseminated in 4 of the 6 main segments of the sector and with different signs in the time horizons. The business trend grew by 0.7 points to 91.3 points, the highest level since October 2022 (98.6 points).