Rio, August 13, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Monthly Commercial Survey released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reveals that São Paulo (-5.44%) and Rio de Janeiro (-7.22) lead the decline in retail sales in the month of June. Rio Grande do Sul (-5.88%), Minas Gerais (-3.23%), and Bahia (=5.57%) also exerted negative pressures on the composition of the index. The volume of retail sales grew in June in only three states: Rondônia (1.65%), Mato Grosso (0.58%), and Pará (0.52%).

According to the IBGE, the two states with the biggest participation in retail trade receipts (Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo) have registered successive declines over the course of the year, and their results in June were responsible for over 60% of the overall national decline. During the first half of the year, the cumulative drop in retail sales in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo amounted to 8.47% and 5.24%, respectively.

For the semester, the sectorial results in São Paulo were: Furniture and appliances, -14.80%; Fuels and lubricants, -7.58%; Megamarkets, supermarkets, food, beverages, and tobacco, -4.94%; Other personal and domestic items, -3.30%; and Textiles, clothing, and footware, -1.39%.

In Rio de Janeiro the variations that occurred during the semester were: Megamarkets, supermarkets, food, beverages, and tobacco, -13.82%; Textiles, clothing, and footware, -11.06%; Fuels and lubricants, -4.11%; and Other personal and domestic items, 1.31%. (DAS)