Consumer confidence in Brazil reached an 18-month high in August, said on Wednesday the higher education institution Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV).

The FGV consumer confidence index rose month-on-month to 79.3 points in August, the highest level since January 2015, news agency Reuters reported. The July reading was 76.7, it added. August marked the fourth consecutive month of sequential improvement in the index.

Judged year-on-year, the August reading rose 9.3 points.

“About 90 percent of the improvement in consumer confidence over the previous four months had been determined by better expectations,” FGV economist Viviane Bittencourt was quoted as saying. But in August “most of the improvement came from greater satisfaction with present conditions, which is a favourable sign,” she added. 

The report noted that consumer perception had improved regarding the outlook for the job market and for family finances.