Service confidence in Brazil in September peaks since 2013, says FGV

Confidence in services in Brazil recorded its highest level in more than nine years in September, in the face of an improvement in perception both about the current moment of the sector and about the coming months, showed data released this Thursday by the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV).

The Services Confidence Index (ICS) advanced 1.0 point to 101.7 points, the highest since March 2013 (102.0), resuming the upward trend seen in recent months after being practically stable in August.

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The Current Situation Index (ISA-S), an indicator of the perception of the present moment of the service sector, gained 1.7 points, to 101.8 points, the highest level since November 2012 (102.0), according to FGV.

The Expectations Index (EI-S), which reflects the outlook for the coming months, rose 0.4 point to 101.7 points, a peak since October 2021 (103.6), in the seventh straight month of gains.

“The result shows that the sector still maintains the positive trajectory of recovery after the most negative effects of the pandemic,” evaluated Rodolpho Tobler, economist at FGV Ibre, in a note.

However, “the continuity of this pace of recovery depends on the improvement in the macroeconomic environment, which still proves to be challenging,” he added.

Data released by the IBGE earlier this month showed that the volume of services in Brazil grew well above what analysts expected in July, in the third consecutive month of growth over the previous month, which took the sector to a level 8.9% above the previous month. pre-pandemic. The sector was a major driver of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first half of 2022.