Trade activity shrank 4.2%

São Paulo-Brazil trade activity dropped by 4.2% in January compared with the same period last year, with unemployment and the need to discharge of debts still weakening consumption beginning in 2017, unveiled yesterday credit information company Serasa Experian.
On monthly basis, whereas seasonal adjustments, there was no indentation of 2.1%. "High unemployment and the need to discharge of debts on the part of the consumer, in order to get out of default, kept the consumption weakened in this first month of 2017," economists of the Serasa Experian in press release.
Between segments, compared to the previous year, the largest drop was sharp in construction material, which saw a 12.1% indentation; followed by furniture, eletroletrônicos and computing, with drop of 11.3%; and textiles, clothing, footwear and accessories, with a decline of 11.2%. The Serasa Experian indicator of Trade activity is built, exclusively, by the volume of monthly queries performed by retailers to Serasa Experian database.
Other indicators
More optimistic, a survey prepared by the Federation of trade in goods, services and tourism of the State of São Paulo (FecomercioSP) points out that, for the seventh consecutive month, the intention of household consumption (ICF) surged and reached 75.9 points in January, the highest level since June 2015, when the index accounted for 81.7 points. According to the entity, the growth was 0.4%, compared to December, and 10.9% in the annual counterpoint. The ICF is calculated monthly and ranges from zero to 200 points, and below 100 points means dissatisfaction and above 100 satisfaction in relation to conditions of consumption. The question Current Consumption level was the highlight of the indicator.