Brazil July Retail Sales Rise Ten Times Faster Than Forecast

Brazil’s July retail sales rose almost 10 times faster than economists forecast, adding pressure on the central bank to keep raising borrowing costs. Swap rates jumped.

Sales rose 1.9 percent from the previous month, after rising a revised 0.4 percent in June, the national statistics agency said today in Rio de Janeiro. The number was higher than all but one forecast from 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, whose median estimate was for a 0.2 percent increase. Retail sales jumped 6 percent from the same month last year, above the median forecast for a 3.1 percent rise.