Brasília – The greater optimism registered in the Brazilian Family Expectation Index (IEF), disclosed on Thursday (9) by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea), is an important figure for leverage of the Brazilian economy, as it serves as an index for industry to programme its sales according to the consumption intention.
The analysis was by the technical advisor of the presidency at Ipea, André Calixtre, on commenting the figures of the 18th edition of the IEF. The index rose from 67.2 points, in December, to 69 points in January 2012, reaching the highest rate since August 2010.
According to the analyst, the index had been registering stability throughout 2011. The growth registered from December to January is the reflex of monetary policy measures adopted by the government late last year to stimulate consumption.
According to Calixtre, “family debt is still very low”, according to figures in the research, showing that “there is space for greater credit”. He pointed out that the rate of interest is a factor that also influences consumer expectations, due to the impact on payment of debts due to purchases on credit.
“We already expected that, at the end of the year, there would be expansion in the Family Expectation Index due to factors that influence the economy at that time of the year. And this index is always based on Brazilian family optimism with regard to their situation and to the situation of the country,” explained Calixtre.
*Translated by Mark Ament
