Brazilian consumers’ confidence in the economy and their own personal finances is on the upswing and, in January, these indices attained their highest levels since October, 2002, when the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) conducted the first Consumer Expectations Survey.
The 14th edition of the survey, released today, shows that the country’s economic situation was considered good by 13.3% and bad by 33.4% of the people who were interviewed. The difference between these two extremes is at its lowest point since the historical series began.
13.6% of the consumers considered their family’s economic situation good, while 19.1% regarded it as bad. This result is down from December’s levels (16.2% and 21.5%, respectively).
The portion of consumers that sees their family’s economic situation as better than what it was six months ago rose from 18.9% to 21.3%. Over the same time period there was a reduction in the percentage of those who considered it worse, from 15.1% to 12.0%.
The study suggests, however, that expectations for the country’s situation in the future have worsened. The confidence level declined from 46.4% in December to 45.4% in January.
With regard to the family’s economic situation, there was also a decline in the portion of consumers optimistic about the next six months, from 56.7% to 56.1%.
The 14th Consumer Expectations Survey also found that the average forecast for inflation in 2005 was 9%, down slightly from the 9.1% registered in December.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil