Index of retail sales of Cielo retreats 0.7% in March

Brazilian retail sales retreated 0.7 percent in March compared with the same month of 2018, discounted for inflation, the worst result in months, according to the index of Retail Expanded Cielo (ICVA), which comes with 1.4 million active sales points accredited to media company payments in the country. In nominal terms, which reflect the sales revenue in fact observed by the retailer, the ICVA surged to 4% in comparison with the previous year, according to data released on Monday. According to the Cielo, the result was negatively impacted by the month calendar, intensified especially at Carnival, which this year fell in March against last year, which occurred in February. "The result of March draws attention, but is far less negative than it looks. The major highlights of this month were the Carnival, playing down sales in comparison with the same period last year, and inflation, which has accelerated, "said Gabriel Mariotto, Director of intelligence of the Cielo. "Anyway, even excluding these effects, the result was weaker than the last few months of 2018 and 2019," said.