Brasilia, Dec 11 (IANS): Brazil's retail trade, one of the mainstays of the South American country's economy, grew 0.9 per cent in volume in October as compared to September, leading to the sixth consecutive monthly increase, the state-run Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said.

Retail sales in October grew 8.3 per cent year on year, the best performance for the month since 2012, Xinhua reported.

In the three-month period ending in October, the index registered an increase of 1.4 per cent compared to the previous three months, while so far this year, it accumulated 0.9 per cent growth, and a 1.3 per cent rise over the previous 12 months.

The increase in retail sales in October and six months of growth in a row reflect the recovery of the Brazilian economy, impacted by Covid-19 pandemic, which caused a strong contraction in March and April of this year.

"The level of retail trade set a record for the third time in a row, being 0.9 per cent above September and 8 per cent higher than February, a pre-pandemic level," the IBGE said, though it noted "growth was unequal" across retail segments.

The financial market has forecast that gross domestic product in 2020 will fall 4.4 per cent, while the government forecast expects a drop of 4.5 per cent.