Rio de Janeiro – The Trade Businessmen Confidence Index (Icec, in the Portuguese acronym) dropped by 3.1% in June compared with May. The monthly survey was disclosed this Tuesday (5th) by the National Confederation of Trade in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC). In May, there was a decline of 2%.
The economist João Felipe Araújo, who coordinates the survey, explained that the decline in June was influenced by the less optimistic perception of businessmen regarding the current economic conditions (-5.3%) and the lower level of satisfaction with stock-up levels (-6.3%). The economist highlighted that the retail sector, however, remains optimistic about the sales performance in 2011.
“The industry and the enterprises are more optimistic, because some key factors of good retail sales performance remain robust, such as the unemployment rate at historically low levels, the strong formal labour market, the total earnings which are still growing at a rate of 6.6% compared with the previous year, not to mention the appreciated exchange rate, which increases the purchasing power of Brazilians and the consumption of imported goods,” he said.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
