Brazil's Consumer Confidence Index(ICC) was up 4.1 percent in June, hitting 106.4 points, the highest in nine months, according to a study released on June 25 by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV).
It was the fourth consecutive rise in the ICC; and the indicator reached the highest level since September 2008. The ICC was down 0.7 percent compared to June 2008, said the FGV.
The ICC ranges from zero to 200. It consists of the Present Situation Index (ISA), which measures the consumer confidence in the current economic scenario, and the Expectations Index (IE), which gauges the consumer confidence in the economic scenario in the near future.
In June, both ISA and IE showed improvement, indicating a steady recovery of the Brazilian consumer confidence. The ISA was up 5.3 percent from May, and reached 106.1 points; the IE was up 4.4 percent, reaching 108.2 points. Both figures are the highest since last September.
According to the FGV study, the number of consumers who described the current economic scenario as good reached 10 percent, up from 8.3 percent in May. Those who found the current situation bad fell from 46.1 to 40.3 percent.
The number of consumers who expect the economic situation to improve in the next months jumped from 28.3 to 30.9 percent. Those who believe the economic situation will take a turn for the worse fell from 18.4 to 14.8 percent.
The ICC study was conducted in over 2,000 households in Brazil's seven main capital cities, between May 29 and June 19.
