Brazil's retail sales slow in May: Statistics authority

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Brazil's retail sales slowed annually and monthly in May, according to data released Wednesday.

Annual retail sales rose 0.5% last month, significantly lower than the 3.2% gain in April, Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) figures showed.

The expectation was for the figure to show an annual increase of 1%.

Monthly retail sales were up 0.1% in May, slowing from the 0.8% increase in April, according to IBGE.

The figure was also lower than estimates of a 0.3% increase.

Retail sales in April increased for the second consecutive month, according to IBGE.