Consumers confidence hits the highest level in two years
O Estado de S. Paulo
Optimism with the future of the country's economy pushed up a leap of the consumer's confidence in April, which reached its best level in two years. It is what is showed yesterday, the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) which leaped from 0.7% in March to 3.5% this month. Analysts state that the result shows a scenario of heated activity in the economy - which can accelerate inflation expectations for the coming months, because of the possibility of a sustainable growth in domestic demand.
For the Superintendent of Economic Cycles of Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and responsible for calculating the indicator, Aloisio Campelo, there was not any new news in March and April to justify the leap in the confidence. In practice, what happened was an understanding, by the consumer, that the economy is showing good results that can be configured in trend. "There is a wave of optimism among consumers that the improving in the economy will continue in the coming months", he summarized.
The favorable job market was also highlighted in the survey. According to Campelo, since the beginning of the year there is a continuous improvement in the evaluation of consumers regarding the future directions of the employment. This makes the consumers more confident about their financial situation, both in assessing the present and in projections for the future.
The scenario has benefited the expectations of purchases of durable goods (like cars and refrigerators) that in April showed the best performance in 22 months. Even with the good results, the specialist of the foundation made an exception. There is an understanding, on the part of the consumer, that interest rates will increase. The share of respondents that estimate an increase in interest rates in the coming months grew from 42.3% to 46.8% from March to April.