According to the retail indicator Mastercard, Brazilian retail sales increased by 0.9% in June in relation to the same month last year. In the comparison between business accumulated in the second quarter of the year, the growth was of 2.7%. The calculations are for retail, excluding car sales and construction material sales.

According to chief economist of Mastercard Advisors in Brazil, César Fukushima, the "modest" sales performance in the month is a reflection of the World Cup impact on retail. "Although commemorative dates, such as Valentine's Day, have pulled the results up, business in general has been hampered by the World Cup games, which was not compensated on other days of the month," he explains.

Among the sectors surveyed, there was an increase in the sales of furniture and appliances, supermarkets, pharmaceutical products, construction materials and articles for personal and domestic use. Meanwhile, the fuel and clothing segments fell.

Mastercard estimates that the pace of retail sales by the end of the year should remain slow, with the main obstacle to a more aggressive expansion of sales to the high unemployment rate in the country and the uncertainties in the economic environment, since all this weighs on consumer confidence.

In the analysis by region, North (2.1%), South (1.7%), Southeast (1.1%) and Northeast (0.9%) were above average, while the Midwest 2.3% in the retail business.