Despite successive interventions by the Central Bank (BC), the dollar closed sharply and approached R$6.10. The stock market fell almost 1% and reached its lowest level since the end of June.
The commercial dollar ended this Monday (16) sold at R$ 6.094, an increase of R$ 0.059 (+0.99%). This is the highest nominal value since the creation of the real, in 1994. The price reached stability shortly after the BC’s first intervention, but rose again after each operation by the monetary authority.
A few minutes after the market opened, the BC sold US$1.6 billion of international reserves in cash. In mid-morning, the monetary authority sold US$3 billion with a commitment to repurchase the money later, an operation announced last Friday (13). Even so, the price rose during the afternoon.
B3’s Ibovespa index closed at 123,560 points, down 0.84%. Falling for the third time in a row, the indicator closed at the lowest level since June 26th.
Both domestic and external factors affected the negotiations. In Brazil, investors remain attentive to the vote on the spending cut package, scheduled to begin this Monday in an extraordinary virtual session of the Chamber of Deputies. Over the past few days, the government has released around R$7 billion in parliamentary amendments to unlock the vote.
In the international market, investors are paying attention to the meeting of the Federal Reserve (Fed, North American Central Bank), which this week decides by how much to lower the basic interest rates in the United States. During the afternoon, a statement by President-elect Donald Trump that he intends to overtax Brazilian products brought instability to the exchange rate and added pressure to the dollar in Brazil.
*With information from Reuters
