Cuiabá merchant confidence index turns positive in June

After five months of negative readings, the Índice de Confiança do Empresário do Comércio (Icec) for Cuiabá rose 4.8% month‑over‑month, reaching 100.5 points in June – the first positive reading of the year. Sebastião Gonçalves, president of Fecomércio‑MT, linked the improvement to the year‑end holiday season.

Despite the optimism, 74.8% of surveyed merchants said current national economic conditions had worsened, and 70% viewed the sector’s present situation as deteriorating. The expectation component of the index continued to climb, reaching 120.5 points, while the investment component rose 4.4%. More than half of the merchants (52.9%) indicated plans to increase staffing, giving a hiring‑intent index of 121.5.

The current confidence level remains 3.5% below June of the previous year, reflecting ongoing caution among local businesses.