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Reuters
Published
Jan 3, 2016
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Brazil Christmas retail sales fall 15 percent

By
Reuters
Published
Jan 3, 2016

Brazilian Christmas retail sales fell 15 percent from a year earlier, the São Paulo Commerce Federation, or FecomercioSP, said on Monday, a result that adds to a growing body of evidence that the country's worst recession in decades is getting deeper.

"The result confirms what we expected," FecomercioSP said in a report citing recent negative results in annual and monthly retail sales from Brazil's IBGE government statistics agency.

Foto: DR


During the week of Dec. 18 to 24, Brazilian retailers saw turnover fall to 50.6 billion reais from 59.2 billion reais during the same pre-Christmas week last year, a loss of 8.69 billion reais ($2.2 billion) in revenue for retailers.

The FecomercioSP study was also in line with research by the association of shopping center store owners. The Alshop survey recorded a 2.8 percent drop in sales during the Christmas period compared to last year.

The FecomercioSP study also noted a 2.8 percent drop in credit checks on clients with the Boa Vista credit agency and a 12 percent decline in the so-called "wider retail" market which includes vehicles and construction supplies in addition to general retail sales.

"Elevated inflation, high interest rates and a worsening of the job market have pushed consumer confidence to its lowest level in 12 years," FecomercioSP said. "Lower confidence has translated into more careful behavior on the part of the consumer, who buys less and avoids new debt."

$1 = 3.89 Brazilian reais

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