Brasília – The National Consumer Expectation Index (Inec, in the Portuguese acronym) was up 3% in July from June. The Inec reached 109.5 points this month, as per a survey released this Thursday (31st) by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI). According to the CNI, however, the confidence rate is still low. This month’s Inec is 0.5% lower than in July last year.
To the CNI, the higher confidence is above all a consequence of improved expectations concerning inflation, unemployment and personal income. “Some of the consumers who were expecting income to decline and inflation and unemployment to increase in the past few months now believe these indicators should remain flat,” the CNI says.
The personal income evolution expectation index for the coming six months was up 7.7% in July from June. Inflation and employment expectations were up 7.1%. The higher the rate, the more optimistic the outlook is.
The improved assessment of financial status has also helped drive up consumer confidence in July. “The indicator was up 5.3%, showing that a smaller number of consumers have seen their financial status become worse in the past three months,” according to the CNI. “The index of higher-value purchases was down 3.3%, pointing to a decline in expectation of consumption of this category of goods,” the survey claims.
The survey was conducted by CNI in partnership with Ibope Inteligência. A total of 2,002 people were polled throughout Brazil from July 18th to 21st.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
