Official figures indicate that retail sales in Brazil were 2.5 percent higher in October than a year earlier but 0.9 percent lower than the month before, Reuters reports.

The news agency, citing data given by the Brazilian statistics agency, says the monthly fall was the steepest since March.

The median forecast of analysts polled by the news agency was that retail sales would be 0.2 percent higher in October than the month before.

The report quotes statistics agency economist Isabella Nunes as saying of the monthly fall: “A possible explanation is that consumers put off purchases, as October precedes a month marked by discounts.”

Ms Nunes thinks the outlook for the Brazilian economy is still better than it was, in spite of the monthly fall, Reuters says.