Brazil retail sales rise less than expected in September

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Retail sales in Brazil rose less than expected in September but recovered from a fall in the previous month, as the strength of Latin America's largest economy keeps in focus amidst the central bank's fight against inflation.

Retail sales volumes rose 0.5% in September from August, statistics agency IBGE said on Tuesday, below the 1.10% increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll, but above August's 0.2% decrease.

Sales grew 2.1% from the year-earlier period, compared to expectations for a 3.70% increase in the Reuters poll.

The rise in sales volumes in September was driven by the personal use and domestic products segment, which rose 3.5%, IBGE said.

"These results indicate that retail sales have resumed their growth trend, after a momentary drop in August," said PicPay economist Igor Cadilhac, adding that a heated job market and good credit conditions will keep supporting consumption.

Brazil's central bank accelerated its monetary tightening pace at its meeting last week, going for a 50 basis-point hike that pushed rates to 11.25%.

Strong economic activity throughout the year, a tight labor market, fiscal concerns and a weakening Brazilian real against the U.S. dollar have been pushing up inflation expectations in Brazil.

(Reporting by Luana Maria Benedito; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)