Rio de Janeiro – The Retailer Confidence Index (Icec), a poll of retail business owners, was up 2.2% in February from January. It was the second straight increment for the seasonally adjusted indicator, which takes into account the usual fluctuations each month of the year. According to the National Federation for Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), the Icec scored 80.2 points.
Despite the month-on-month increase, the indicator was down 19.9% in February from February 2015. Business owners assess the industry outlook on a scale of zero to 200, with scores below 100 showing pessimism.
The month-on-month increase stemmed primarily from the current scenario assessment, which improved by 16.3%. Respondents were more confident regarding economic performance (35.7%), trade (20.3%) and their own businesses (9.5%).
The outlook for investment also improved over January (1.4%). Respondents plan on stepping up investment in their businesses (8.3%) and find their inventory levels are more adequate now than they did last month (2.1%). Nonetheless, they plan on reducing investment in hiring personnel (3.8%).
In February, retailers were less optimistic about the future than they were in January (-0.7%), due to worsening outlooks regarding trade (-1%) and their own businesses (-1.6%). Conversely, expectation regarding the economic scenario in months to come improved by 0.9%.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
