Consumer confidence in Brazil at highest point since January 2015

Consumer confidence in Brazil rose in August for the fourth month in a row to 79.3 points, the highest level since January 2015, according to a report by the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) business school.

The data released Wednesday by FGV's center for economic studies showed that consumer confidence rose by 2.6 points between July and August.

The middle-class seemed particularly happy since those people earning between three and seven times the minimum wage saw their satisfaction rise sharply by 5.2 points in August.

"Around 90 percent of the rise in consumer confidence over the last four months is due to an improvement of (economic) outlook," said the report.

However, the August rise is marked by the respondents saying they felt satisfied with the current situation.

The FGV highlighted this as a positive sign, "since consumer perception has improved, both in terms of the jobs market and families' financial situation."

Prior to this rise, consumer confidence had tanked due to Brazil's deep economic crisis, with the economy contracting by 3.8 percent in 2015 and is expected to shrink by 3.2 percent this year, according to financial estimates.

While this report brings a measure of hope, the country is still battling high inflation and an unemployment rate over 11 percent. Enditem