Brazil’s retail sales inched down in January


After growing for seven months in a row, retail sales in Brazil fell by 0.3% y/y in January, as the country saw the number of COVID-19 infections accelerate in many regions. Notably, in the state of Amazonas, retail sales fell by 24% y/y, as the local government adopted a lockdown in the state capital of Manaus in mid-January, amid a collapse of the local health system.
In addition, many households saw a substantial decline of their purchasing power in January, as the government’s cash transfer programme – the emergency aid – ended in December 2020, and as an acceleration of consumer’s inflation was observed.
Read the latest CEIC Leading Indicator analysis for Brazil - 'Vaccination delays hamper Brazil’s economic recovery'.