Rio, March 19, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Following 12 consecutive months of sales declines through last November, retail commerce registered 6.09% growth in January, compared with January, 2003, on top of a 3.21% sales increase in December.

This result, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), is the best since January, 2000, when the Monthly Survey of Commerce was initiated, and it reflects more optimistic expectations for the economic picture this year than last.

"The interest rate is the chief factor, because it was much higher in 2003. Inflation under control and signs of improvement in workers' income and employment also contributed to the recovery in retail sales," explained the IBGE's coordinator of Services and Commerce, Nilo Macedo.

The furniture and home appliance sector registered the highest growth, 19.62%, stimulated by eased credit conditions. Hypermarkets and supermarkets, which make up 40% of the overall index, grew 2.87% in January. In December this segment expanded 1.8%, following 15 months of slumping sales. The only area in which the sales volume was off in January was fuel and lubricants (-0.59%).

Of the 27 Brazilian states, 21 recorded an increase in retail sales. The biggest gains occurred in Roraima (33.17%), Mato Grosso (23.90%), Tocantins (22.68%), Rondônia (19.05%), Espírito Santo (14.78%), Santa Catarina (13.20%), and Amazonas (13.17%). The positive results obtained in São Paulo (6.79%), Rio de Janeiro (7%), and Minas Gerais (7.15%) were the determining factor in the positive performance of retail sales in January, given the great concentration of retail activity in these regions.

Nominal sales receipts (gross earnings) rose 20.24% in January, compared with January, 2003. Over the past 12 months, gross earnings grew 13.07%, while sales volume declined 2.89%.

Translator: David Silberstein