Retail sales volumes in Brazil edged up 0.01 percent in September from the previous month, official data showed on Thursday, as consumer spending began to pick up after a slowdown in August.
Sales in September, as compared with those in September 2004, also rose 5.62 percent, extending a string of year-on-year reports of growth to 22 months, the government's statistics agency IBGE said.
The September result was higher than the 4.4 percent average forecast of economists at four international investment banks. Their predictions were in a narrow range, going from a low of 4.2 percent to a high of 4.7 percent.
Sales had dropped 0.38 percent in August from July, the first decline in six months, as sky-high interest rates began to take a toll on the economy.
The IBGE said retail sales were up a cumulative 4.98 percent in the first nine months of the year compared to the year-earlier period.
September volumes, as measured against the year-earlier month, rose in seven of the eight categories surveyed. The exception was in the fuels category, where sales slumped 7.14 percent from a year earlier.
The strong year-on-year growth in most categories suggests that demand continues to accelerate, supported by rising real wages and falling inflation, economists said.
Sales had dropped 0.38 percent in August from July, the first decline in six months, as sky-high interest rates began to take a toll on the economy.
With inflation under control, the central bank began lowering its benchmark lending rate in September for the first time in well over a year, thus paving the way for an increase in economic activity in the coming months.
After two consecutive reductions, the base rate currently stands at a lofty 19 percent a year, though the bank is widely expected to cut rates again next week at its monthly monetary policy meeting.