SUPERMARKETS PILE UP 1.91% HIGH in SALES

Sales of the supermarket sector in real values * accumulated 1.91% growth from January to July, compared with the same period last year, according to the National Sales Index of Brazilian supermarket Association (ABRAS), determined by the Department of Economics and research entity, released on Tuesday (4). In July, sales registered growth of 1.12% compared to June and 0.30% high in comparison with the same month of 2017. In nominal values, the industry's sales showed 1.45% high in comparison with the month of June and, when compared to July of last year, growth of 4.78%. Year to date, sales rose 5.34 percent. "The actual result accumulated shows a slowing in the pace of industry sales. The economic recovery is still slow, even though the unemployment rate is falling, yet reaches about 13 million economically active Brazilians, which directly impacts the purchasing power of people. But our expectations for the coming months are good, with the payment of the first installment of the 13th of retirees and the release of PIS/Pasep, we believe that the economy will gain a boost in that second half, "says the President of OPEN, John Sanzovo Grandson. Abrasmercado in the month of July, the price of the basket of products * Abrasmercado, researched by GfK and analyzed by the Department of Economics and research of OPEN, surged to 1.55%, from R to R $457.27 $464.36. The products with the largest falls in prices in July were: onion, tomato, potato and egg. The largest high were recorded on items: pasta semolina spaghetti, cassava flour, long life milk and laundry detergent. Regions (Abrasmercado) the northern region was presented greater variation in Abrasmercado basket prices in July (6.65%), reaching the R $522.45. The South recorded the largest drop (-0.14%).