Brazil’s retail sales rose in August for the first time in three months, the IBGE statistics institute reported. The institute said sales were up by 1.1% from July, and by 2.9% in the first 8 months of the year compared to the same period in 2013. Sales for the month of August were down, however, by 1.1% in comparison with the same month last year. The advance of sales from July, meanwhile, came alongside an increase in sales of office equipment, up 7.5%, clothing and shoes, up 3.2%, and pharmaceutical and medical products, up 2.5%. Supermarket and food sales, however, were down by 0.1% during the month. Brazil’s economy registered a slowdown in the second quarter of the year, contracting 0.6%, amid a sluggish global scenario and elevated local interest rates. According to recent central bank market surveys, the country’s economy is seen growing about 0.3% this year after showing 2.3% growth in 2013.