Consumer confidence rises 1.4 point in August, says FGV

Consumer confidence increased 1.4 points in August compared to July, in the series with seasonal adjustment, reported on Monday (24) fgv (Getulio Vargas Foundation). The ICC (Consumer Confidence Index) rose to 80.2 points. The indicator returned to the march level, when the economy began to be impacted by the pandemic of the new coronavirus, but is still 7.6 points below the level of February. In quarterly moving averages, there was a 6-point increase in August.
"The timid rise in consumer confidence in August represents a slowdown in the pace of recovery that began in May. Reflecting the situation of great uncertainty, the august result also exposes an expressive heterogeneity between income classes. Low-income consumers are experiencing a drop in confidence and now seem to project greater difficulties in the coming months, which may be related to the end of emergency aid payments. Consumers with higher purchasing power are less satisfied with the moment and preferring to save to consume. Between the two extreme groups, consumer confidence in the middle classes continues in August in the recovery trend. The different movements show that not only the impact but the reaction speed may be different among economic agents and should be analyzed carefully," viviane Seda Bittencourt, coordinator of the Polls of fgv's Brazilian Institute of Economics (Ibre/FGV), said in an official statement.
In August, the Current Situation Index (ISA) rose 0.5 points to 71.5 points, still below in historical terms. The Expectations Index (EI) advanced 2.0 points to 87.1 points, the best result since February, when it was at 93.2 points.
The component that misunderstands the present satisfaction of consumers with the economy advanced 1.2 points to 75.1 points, while the item that assing satisfaction with the family financial situation gave 0.3 point to 68.4 points. Both issues remain close to the historic floors.
The component that assing consumer expectations about the economy in the coming months rose 0.2 point to 111.7 points, the highest level since February (116.9 points).
The item that measures optimism about family finances in the following months rose 1.4 points to 91.1 points, the fourth consecutive high.
The biggest contribution to the ICC's rise in August was the momentum of purchases of durable goods, rising 4.3 points to 60.3 points, the highest level since February (64.3 points).
There was a drop in confidence in the extreme income ranges, higher and lower, and improvement in the intermediate ranges. "For consumers with lower purchasing power, the worsening is related to the lack of perspectives on employment and improvement of the family financial situation, which directly affects consumption. In consumers with higher purchasing power, there is also a reduction in the intention of purchasing durable goods, which seems to be related to the high level of uncertainty of the period," fgv pointed out.
The Consumer Survey collected information from 1,752 households in seven capitals, with interviews between August 1 and 19.