The soaring price of commodities (primary goods with international quotations) and high interest rates in Brazil continue to push the dollar down. In another day of strong fall, the US currency closed at the lowest value since March 2020. The stock exchange resisted external pressures and closed slightly higher.
The commercial dollar closed this Wednesday (23) sold at R$ 4.844, with a decrease of R$ 0.071 (-1.84%). The quotation opened close to stability, but plummeted after the opening of the North American market, until it closed close to the low of the day.
This was the sixth consecutive drop for the US currency, which is at its lowest since March 13, 2020, when it had sold at R$4.81. With today’s performance, the US currency has dropped 6.04% in March and 13.12% this year.
In the stock market, the day was more unstable. The Ibovespa index, on the B3, rose by almost 1% around 12 noon, but slowed down, influenced by the foreign market, and closed at 117,457 points, up 0.16%. Despite US stocks having fallen, shares of oil companies and retailers held up the Brazilian indicator.
Two factors contributed to maintaining the inflow of foreign capital into Brazil. The first was the high interest rates in Brazil. Currently at 11.75% per year, the Selic rate (basic interest rates in the economy) is at its highest level since April 2017 and is expected to rise another 1 point at the next meeting, in May. The high rates keep the interest of investors looking to invest in riskier markets, such as emerging countries.
The second factor stems from an indirect effect of the war between Russia and Ukraine: the soaring of commodities. Higher prices encourage the inflow of foreign exchange into countries that export agricultural and environmental products, such as Brazil. Today, the price of a barrel of Brent oil (used in international negotiations) rose again and closed at US$ 120.
*With information from Reuters
