Consumer confidence advances in January

Brazil's consumer confidence rose for the second month in a row and closed January at highest level in almost three years, with the strong improvement in the perception of current conditions, according to the indicator of the Thomson Reuters/Ipsos.
The primary index of Consumer Sentiment (PCSI, nasigla in English) advanced 4.5 percentage points compared with December and was 45.6 points. This is the highest level since February 2015, when it was at 45.8 points.
With increase of 8.2 points, the sub-index which measures current conditions, which measures the personal finances of Brazilians reached 39.4 points in January compared with the previous month. With high of 7.3 points, to 48.6 points, the sub-index of perception on the investment environment had the second highest growth in the period.
Already the sub-index of confidence related to the labour market, which evaluates current job security and prospects for the future, rose 3.3 percentage points, scoring 36 points in January.
Expectations
According to the survey, the expectations sub-index was the only one to be stable in 63.5 points this month. Inflation and interest rates lower, along with the slow recovery of the labour market in the country, has helped improve consumer confidence.