* Brazil’s national statistics institute (Ibge) has released the latest retail sales figures, showing a monthly increase in sales volume of 0.8% in March and a 3.2% increase compared to March 2022. The sales volume for Q1 2023 was up 2.4% from the volume registered in the same quarter last year. The positive first quarter performance comes after drops in sales in November 2022 (-0.6%) and December 2022 (-2.7%). The monthly increase in sales this March was mainly driven by office supplies (+7.7%), with slight increases in pharmaceutical, medical, orthopaedic items & perfumes (+0.7%) and in furniture and home appliances (+0.3%). However, four of the eight product categories measured saw a monthly decrease, with fabrics, clothes, & footwear (-4.5%) seeing the sharpest drop.
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