On a day of turbulence in the domestic and foreign markets, the dollar soared, surpassing the R$5.50 barrier for the first time since the beginning of August. The stock market fell for the second day in a row and accumulated a drop of almost 4% in October, amid new trade tensions between the United States and China and concerns about Brazilian public accounts.
The commercial dollar ended this Friday (10) sold at R$5.503, an increase of R$0.128 (+2.38%) in just one day. The price opened the day falling, dropping to R$5.36, but reversed the movement in the first minutes of trading. At the high of the day, shortly after 2pm, it reached R$5.51.
The US currency is at its highest level since August 5th. With this Friday’s performance, the currency rose 3.13% in the week and accumulated an appreciation of 3.39% in October. In 2025, the dollar falls 10.95%.
The day was also turbulent on the stock market. B3’s Ibovespa index closed at 140,680 points, down 0.73%. At the lowest level since September 3, the indicator lost 2.44% in the week. In the month, it registered a loss of 3.8%.
The combination of escalating trade tensions between the United States and China and increased concerns about the Brazilian fiscal framework put pressure on the real, which had the worst performance among emerging currencies.
Trade war
On the international scene, the Washington’s new trade offensive against Beijing pressured global markets. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, stated on the Truth Social platform that the government “is calculating a large increase in tariffs on products from China”, in retaliation for the Chinese decision to expand export controls on rare earths, a strategic input for the technology industry.
Early this Friday evening (10), Trump announced the imposition of a new 100% tariff on Chinese products. The decision should put even more pressure on the international financial market on Monday (13).
Oil prices fell more than 4%, reaching their lowest level in five months. The price of a barrel of Brent Type, used in international negotiations, ended the day at US$62.73, a drop of 3.82%.
United States stock markets also closed sharply lower. The S&P 500, of the 500 largest companies, fell 2.71%; the Nasdaq, of technology companies, fell 3.56%; and the Dow Jones, of industrial companies, lost 1.88%. Faced with increased uncertainty, investors sought protection in assets considered safe, such as gold and United States Treasury bonds.
In Brazil, external turbulence added to new fears about public accounts in 2026. overturn of the provisional measure (MP) which intended to increase taxation on investments caused a R$17 billion hole in the government’s accounts next year, which will have elections. Next week, the government will discuss alternatives to compensate for the loss of validity of the MP.
*with information from Reuters
