Trade confidence falls 3.8 points in February compared with January, says FGV

The trade confidence index (Icom) fell 3.8 points in January to February, passage down the 100.0 points, reported on Tuesday, 26, the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV). In quarterly moving averages, the indicator still advanced 0.1 point, the sixth consecutive high. "After a period of high expressive on trust at the end of 2018, entrepreneurs in the industry seem to calibrate expectations at the beginning of 2019. The result exactly 100 points shows that the sector is still in the region of transition to higher levels of confidence. A sales recovery in a more intense still depends on the most significant improvement of the labour market and reduce the levels of uncertainty "evaluated Rodolpho Tobler, Coordinator of the Survey of the trade in the Brazilian Institute of Economics (Ibre/FGV FGV ), in official statement. In February, there were decreases in confidence in eight of the 13 segments surveyed. The Current Situation index (ISA-with) fell 1.4 point to 93.2 points, the second consecutive drop. Already the Expectations index (IE-with) retreated 6.1 points, to 106.8 points, after advances in four months. The Poll of trade brings a rise in the indicator of Discomfort of trade, made up of the sum of the complaints about insufficient demand, access to bank credit and financial cost as limitations to business improvement. The increase in the indicator of Discomfort in February compared to January, in quarterly moving averages, was influenced by high in complaints about insufficient demand, which rose from 24.8% in January to 27.1% in February; about the financial cost, the rise of 16.6% to 17.8%; and the stagnation of access to credit, which ranged from 6.7% to 6.5% over the same period. The result shows that, after six consecutive positive results, entrepreneurs still seem to be wary of the speed of the recovery of sales by 2019, pointed the FGV. Data collection for the February issue of the Survey of the trade was carried out between 1 and 22 of the month and gained 851 companies information.