Weekly Report - 27 September 2018 (WR-18-38)

BRAZIL | Consumer confidence down. The index of consumer confidence (ICC) measured by the Instituto Brasileiro de Economia Fundação Getulio Vargas (Ibre/FGV) fell by 1.7 points in September to 81.2, back to the same level as June when consumer confidence was rocked by the 11-day lorry drivers’ strike at the end of May. The September ICC was affected by particularly poor confidence amongst low-income earners (down 3.9 points from August to September). Viviane Seda Bittencourt, coordinator of the consumer survey, said that the fall in the ICC was primarily due to families’ financial situation and the slow recovery of the job market, and she noted that Brazil’s uncertain political scenario was only a secondary factor.