Retail has best quarter since 2001
Folha de S. Paulo - 05/16/2008
Retail sales have grown 12% in volume in the first three months of 2008 compared to 2007, according to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), the ever best quarterly performance of the researched data series since it started in 2001. Despite the high inflation in the food segment, commerce reacted in March, and sales increased 1.8% compared to February, free of seasonal influences. In February the retraction reached 0.7%. In relation to March/2007, the expansion was 11.4%. According to Carlos Thadeu de Freitas, economist of CNC (National Confederation of Commerce), retail "is still strongly influenced by credit", whose payment periods keep being long, notwithstanding the increase of the future interest rates (that work as reference for the financings) and the Selic rate. Sales of furniture and home appliances lead the sector, with growth of 17.3% in the quarter and 1.6% from February to March. Another factor that influenced March's result was Easter, according to IBGE. The holiday, that generally takes place in April, pushed the sales up in super and hyper markets, and food stores. The sector has recovered from the February decrease (- 2.8%) and grew 3.3% in March. In the quarter, it stayed below the upper-average of 8.5%. "The result from February was influenced by Carnival, period of higher extravagances. This fact may have affected the income of the families for the rest of the month. Commerce has resumed its normal rhythm in March ", said Nilo Lopes de Macedo, from IBGE.