* Brazil’s national statistics institute (Ibge) has released figures on retail sales in September, registering a 0.6% monthly increase in sales volume. This comes after a slight drop of 0.2% was registered in August, which interrupted two consecutive months of rising sales in June and July. The accumulated sales volume in the first nine months of 2023 showed a 1.8% increase compared to the same period last year and the accumulated volume in the 12 months until September 2023 increased by 1.7% from the previous 12-month period. Three of the eight product categories measured saw a monthly rise in sales: furniture & household appliances (+2.1%), supermarkets, food, drinks & smoking products (+1.6%), and pharmaceutical, medical and orthopaedic items & perfumes (+0.4%).