Brazilian consumer confidence fell again in June, according to the 19th Survey of Consumer Expectations, conducted by the Getúlio Vargas Foundation’s (FGV) Brazilian Institute of Economics (Ibre) and released today.
Only one of the five items in the questionnaire failed to present worse results than in May. That was the family’s economic situation (11.7%), the same as in May.
The index of consumers who consider the current economic situation better than it was six months ago registered a slight decrease, from 12.9% to 12.8%. The index of those who consider it worse rose from 28.2% to 35.6%, the highest level since January, 2003.
The consumers revealed less favorable expectations regarding the future. Only one of the four items included in the survey registered an improvement. That was the labor market, which had declined during the four previous months.
Although 55.7% of the consumers think that finding a job will be more difficult in the six coming months, compared to 55.2% in May, the index of those who think it will be easier increased from 6.3% to 10.2%.
Expectations for the country are worse than they are for families. The percentage of consumers who believe that the country’s economic situation will improve in the next six months dropped from 36.4% to 32.9%, an all-time low for the survey.
On the other hand, consumers now believe that inflation will average 8.7% in 2005, compared with 9.0% in May.
ABr – www. radiobras.gov.br
