BRASILIA, July 3 — The World Cup has improved the mood, brightened the economic outlook of Brazilians and given President Dilma Rousseff a lift in popularity as she prepares to seek re-election in October, a new poll published late yesterday showed.

Support for the leftist president has risen to 38 per cent from 34 per cent a month ago, the survey of eligible voters by Brazilian polling firm Datafolha said.

Support for her main challenger Aecio Neves has risen one percentage point to 20 per cent from the previous Datafolha poll in June, while another rival Eduardo Campos advanced two percentage points to 9 per cent, the survey showed.

Rousseff’s popularity has been hurt by high inflation in a stagnant economy and her support among voters had been falling steadily from 47 per cent in November, according to Datafolha polls.

Criticism over Brazil’s hosting of the World Cup also bit into Rousseff’s poll numbers over the past year, with many Brazilians concerned over excessive spending on stadiums and potential for embarrassing organizational problems.

But the World Cup, which many international commentators cite as one of the most exciting in recent decades, has gone more smoothly than many expected and anti-World Cup protests have all but fizzled out. Public opinion has since shifted, according to the poll, with 63 per cent of those surveyed in favour of hosting the event — up from 51 per cent a month earlier.

Those polled who say the nation’s hosting of the Cup has made them proud as Brazilians rose from 45 per cent to 60 per cent.

The poll also showed Brazilians taking a rosier view of the economy, with 30 per cent saying they are optimistic the economy will improve, up from 26 per cent in July. Fewer Brazilians now think inflation will continue rising, 58 per cent polled compared with 64 per cent a month earlier, while 43 per cent see unemployment rising, down from 48 per cent.

The new poll confirmed, however, that Brazil is heading for a tough presidential race that will likely go to a second-round run-off three weeks later.

Rousseff’s 38 per cent support level is equal to the sum of her opponents. A month ago Rousseff carried 34 per cent of the vote while her opponents held 32 per cent. She needs to win more than all the other candidates put together to avoid a run-off against the second-placed rival.

The poll of 2,857 eligible voters was carried out on Tuesday and yesterday and has a margin of error of two percentage points either way. — Reuters