LatinNews Daily - 25 August 2020

* The Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) university in Brazil has released the latest figures for its consumer confidence index (ICC), which show that in August consumer confidence has returned to the same levels it stood at in March, after plunging in April as a result of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the measures taken to contain the spread of the disease, and their impact on the economy. The ICC increased by 1.4 to 80.2 points in August – the smallest increase in consumer confidence since the index began to recover in May. “The timid rise in consumer confidence in August reflects a slowdown in the pace of the recovery begun in May... [This reflects] the situation of great uncertainty”, said Viviane Seda Bittencourt, survey coordinator at the FGV, adding that there are significant variations in consumer confidence depending on income. For example, confidence among lower income consumers has actually fallen in August compared with July, notably reflecting the precariousness in the job market.

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