UPDATE 1-Brazil's Oct retail sales fall 1st time since Feb

Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:30am EST
(Recasts, adds data on main retail segments, nominal sales)
By Elzio Barreto
SAO PAULO, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Retail sales volume in Brazil fell in October for the first time in eight months as consumers cut spending on appliances, shoes, clothes and furniture because of a global credit crunch and high domestic borrowing costs.
Sales volumes dipped 0.3 percent in October from September, the first month-on-month drop in sales since a 0.9 percent slide in February, statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday.
The median forecast in a Reuters survey of 15 economists was for retail sales to have dipped 0.4 percent month-on-month. The estimates ranged from a 1.5 percent decline in sales to 0.8 percent increase.
Five of the eight sectors surveyed for the month-on-month data fell, led by a 4.4 percent plunge in sales of shoes and clothing and a 0.9 percent decline in furniture and appliances, the IBGE said.
October retail sales jumped 10.1 percent when compared with October of 2007. That was higher than the 8.8 percent median forecast of 18 analysts in the survey. Estimates ranged from 8.1 percent to 10.5 percent.
Nominal sales, as measured by total sales receipts and unadjusted for inflation, edged 0.1 percent lower month-on-month in October. Nominal sales jumped 16.7 percent from October 2007.
Retail sales volumes -- unlike total sales receipts via cash or credit card -- exclude inflation that could distort sales comparisons.
For a breakdown of retail sales data from the IBGE's Web site please go to: here (Editing by Walker Simon)