The dollar fell for the second day in a row after the Central Banks of Brazil and the United States raised basic interest rates. The stock exchange followed the international markets and closed with a strong rise, despite the fall in Petrobras shares.
The commercial dollar ended this Thursday (17) sold at R$ 5.034, with a decrease of R$ 0.059 (-1.16%). The price came to operate slightly higher during the morning, but consolidated the fall from 11:30 am, until closing close to the lows of the day.
In the last two days, the US currency has accumulated a drop of R$ 0.11. On Tuesday (15), the currency had closed at R$ 5.15 amid the price correction of commodities (primary goods with international quotation). Expectations regarding the meetings of the Federal Reserve (Fed, US Central Bank) and the Monetary Policy Committee (Copom) of the Brazilian Central Bank had also created instability at the beginning of the week.
In the stock market, the day was also marked by optimism. The B3 Ibovespa index closed at 113,076 points, up 1.77%. Influenced by the greater international appetite for risk, the indicator returned to the levels of a week ago, when it was also in the range of 113 thousand points.
The Fed’s decision to raise interest rates in the US by just 0.25 percentage point brought global relief. Some investors feared that rising inflation in the United States, at the highest level in 40 years, and the impacts of the war between Russia and Ukraine would make the US monetary authority opt for a 0.5 point readjustment. A higher-than-expected readjustment would encourage capital flight from emerging countries, such as Brazil.
In Brazil, the market reflected the rise of 1 percentage point in the Selic rate (basic interest rates in the economy). The Copom raised the rate to 11.75%, in line with market forecasts and indicated that it intends to increase the Selic by the same magnitude at the next meeting, in May.
On the stock exchange, the performance of the foreign market offset the drop in Petrobras shares, the most traded shares on the Ibovespa. Common shares (with voting rights at shareholders’ meetings) fell 2.7% and preferred shares (with preference in the distribution of dividends) fell 2.47% amid tensions over the maintenance of the fuel price policy practiced by the state-owned.
* With information from Reuters
