Half of Brazilians want Temer in power until 2018: poll

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Half of Brazilians would like to see interim President Michel Temer stay in the job until the next election in 2018, compared with 32 percent who desire the return of suspended President Dilma Rousseff, according to a Datafolha poll published Saturday on the Folha de S.Paulo website. The poll, conducted on July 14 and 15, showed just 3 percent of people are in favor of holding early elections. Rousseff is currently suspended as her impeachment case is tried in the Senate. A verdict is expected toward the end of August on whether she broke budget laws. Despite half of Brazilians wanting Temer to continue in the country's top job instead of having Rousseff return, the interim president's approval rating is only 31 percent. The wide-ranging poll also showed rising confidence in the economy. The Datafolha Index of Confidence registered 98 points, the highest since the end of 2014 and 11 points higher than the last poll in February. (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Matthew Lewis)