Dollar rises to R$5.46 and closes at the highest value in six months

In another day of volatility in the financial market, the dollar rose to its highest value in six months. The stock market started the day down, but reacted during the afternoon and closed stable.

The commercial dollar closed this Wednesday (20) sold at R$ 5.461, up by R$ 0.04 (+0.74%). The price dropped during the morning, reaching R$ 5.39 around 10:30 am. However, the US currency could not resist domestic and external pressures and started to rise just before 12:00, until it closed close to the high of the day.

The quotation is at the highest value since January 24, when it was R$ 5.50. With today’s performance, the currency accumulates a high of 4.32% in July and a fall of 2.06% in 2022.

In the stock market, the day was also marked by volatility. After falling 0.98% around 11 am, the Ibovespa index recovered for the rest of the day and closed at 98,287 points, up 0.04%. Shares of mining companies and logistics companies led to the fall of the indicator, but the reaction of the North American stock exchanges, which ended higher, helped the Brazilian stock market to recover.

Internal and external factors influenced the financial market on Wednesday. Internal political tensions caused turmoil in the stock market and in the dollar. In the international scenario, the likely rise in interest rates in the euro zone and the acceleration of global demand for the dollar throughout the day affected negotiations.

Next week, the Federal Reserve (Fed), the US Central Bank, will set the basic interest rates for the largest economy on the planet. Some analysts believe that the agency may raise rates by 1 percentage point because inflation in the United States is at its highest level in 41 years. Higher interest rates in advanced economies encourage capital flight from emerging countries such as Brazil.

*With information from Reuters