Consumer confidence plummets in January, indicating an even deeper depression.

The Consumer Confidence Index (ICC) fell again, dropping from 110,7 points in December to 102,2 points in January, representing a 7,7% decrease. The indicator was released this Friday, the 27th, by Fecomércio-SP. The scoring scale ranges from zero (total pessimism) to 200 (total optimism). The data is collected from 2,2 consumers in the municipality of São Paulo. "The results of the January survey still show a consumer dissatisfied with the current socioeconomic conditions and insecure about the future," says the entity. Since taking office, Michel Temer has plunged the country into a vicious cycle: with more than 12 million unemployed, the country is not consuming, companies are not selling, causing a drop in tax revenue, which fell by 3% in 2016.

January 27, 2017, 16:01 AMUpdated July 03, 2018, 23:15 pm

The Consumer Confidence Index (ICC) fell again, dropping from 110,7 points in December to 102,2 points in January, representing a 7,7% decrease; the indicator was released this Friday, the 27th, by Fecomércio-SP; the scoring scale ranges from zero (total pessimism) to 200 (total optimism). The data is collected from 2,2 consumers in the municipality of São Paulo; "The result of the January survey still shows a consumer dissatisfied with the current socioeconomic conditions and insecure about the future," says the entity; since taking office, Michel Temer has plunged the country into a vicious cycle: with more than 12 million unemployed, the country is not consuming, companies are not selling, causing a drop in tax revenue, which fell by 3% in 2016 (Photo: Aquiles Lins).

Flávia Albuquerque, from Agência Brasil - The Consumer Confidence Index (ICC) fell again, dropping from 110,7 points in December to 102,2 points in January, representing a decrease of 7,7%.

Compared to January of last year, there was an increase of 14,8%, according to a survey conducted monthly by the Federation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism of the State of São Paulo (FecomercioSP).

The scoring scale ranges from zero (total pessimism) to 200 (total optimism). The data is collected from 2,2 consumers in the city of São Paulo.

After five consecutive increases, the Current Economic Conditions Index (ICEA), one of the two component items of the index, fell 6,1%, from 72,6 in December to 68,2 points in January.

Compared to January 2016, the index rose by 19,5%. The second component of the ICC, the Consumer Expectations Index (IEC), contracted by 8,2%, falling from 136,1 points in December to 125 points in January.

Compared to January of last year, there was an increase of 13,2%, the tenth consecutive increase.

According to the economic advisory team at FecomercioSP, the atmosphere is more positive than it was a year ago, thanks to recent changes in the political and economic landscape.

"The results of the January survey still show a consumer dissatisfied with current socioeconomic conditions and insecure about the future."

The current situation is also reflected in expectations, as families remain apprehensive about the job market.

According to an analysis by FecomercioSP, consumers are starting 2017 with the same concerns they experienced throughout last year: tight budgets due to more modest income gains, resulting from the real increase in the cost of living caused by higher prices and interest rates, and especially by uncertainty regarding their future employment.

According to the research, in the ICEA results, consumers with family incomes above 10 minimum wages and aged 35 or older were the determining factors for the monthly decline. The drop in the IEC, on the other hand, was driven by the male demographic and consumers aged 35 or older.