Consumer confidence maintains recovery trend in July

The index that measures consumer confidence (ICC) rose 7.7 points in July to 78.8 points. After a three-month high, the index is now 9.0 points below February, the last month before the pandemic hit the Brazilian economy. "Consumer confidence maintained the recovery trend in July, driven mainly by improved expectations of the economy. But despite believing in a recovery in the economy in the second half of the year, consumers remain dissatisfied with the current situation and still do not see the improvement of their personal finances in the six-month horizon. With no deadline to end, the pandemic seems to have a more pronounced effect on consumers, who still feel threatened with unemployment and loss of income, than in companies," says Viviane Seda Bittencourt, Coordinator of the Polls at FGV Ibre. In July, consumer satisfaction with the current situation was stable compared to the previous month, at a level considered historically low. Expectations improved in relation to the following months. On the future prospects, consumers are less pessimistic. The indicator that measures optimism about the economic situation was the one that most contributed to the july confidence indicator' rise. Meanwhile, the outlook on the financial situation of households, despite registering growth, still remains in the region that denotes pessimism. Less optimistic expectations of the family financial situation seems to be one of the factors to keep consumers cautious. The indicator that measures the momentum of purchases of durable goods was at one of the lowest levels in the historical series. Confidence was recovered for all family income classes for the second consecutive month.