Brazil's retail sales unexpectedly decline in July

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) – Retail sales in Brazil fell 0.8% in July from the previous month, bucking market expectations of an increase, according to official data released on Wednesday.

The market estimate for the figure was a monthly rise of 0.3%, following a 1.4% drop in June.

The largest monthly decline of 17.1% was in textiles, apparel and footwear, followed by furniture and household appliances at 3%, data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) showed.

On an annual basis, the retail sales volume contracted 5.2% in July.

The market expectation for July was an annual decline of 3.5%, after the 0.3% dip seen in June.

The biggest annual drop of 28.7% was in articles of personal and domestic, followed by textiles, apparel and footwear with 16.2%, according to IBGE data.