Brazil consumer confidence rises for third straight month in July

Consumer confidence in Brazil is likely to have risen for third straight month in a row in July as Brazilians remain less pessimistic about the country’s economic fortune in the near-to-medium term.

The consumer confidence index rose by 5.4 points to 76.7 in July from 71.3 in the previous month, data released by the Getulio Vargas Foundation, FGV showed Monday. After reaching the lowest value of the series in April 2016, the index increased for the third straight month in July.

The current situation index climbed to a 4-month high of 65.7 in July. The expectations index gained notably 8.2 points to 85.3 percent in July, which was the highest since December 2014. Further, The country's economy is expected to shrink by 3.25 percent this year, according to economists, after contracting by 3.8 percent last year.

The consumer-confidence index is based on a survey of 1,943 families in Brazil's seven largest cities. It measures their willingness to purchase various consumer goods and gauges expectations about employment, income and economic opportunities.

"The rapid improvement in expectations after the entry of the interim government, however, seems to overcome the cyclical recovery rate of the economy in the short term, especially considering the risks still exist in the political environment, as the second phase of impeachment, elections and the vote on the fiscal adjustment measures," said Viviane Seda Bittencourt, Coordinator of the Consumer Survey, FGV.