On a day of tensions in the domestic and foreign markets, the dollar rose and once again surpassed the R$ 5.50 barrier. The stock market fell by nearly 2%, driven by the poor performance of retail and the fall in the international price of some commodities (primary goods with an international quotation).
The commercial dollar ended this Tuesday (16) sold at R$ 5.50, with an increase of R$ 0.043 (+0.78%). The price started the day in a fall, reaching R$ 5.43 at around 10 am, but reversed the movement after the announcement that retail sales in the United States grew 1.7% in October, above expectations, pressing the US currency up across the planet.
The heating up of sales in the North American market reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve (Fed, Central Bank of the United States) will increase interest rates at the beginning of next year. Higher interest rates encourage capital flight from emerging countries, such as Brazil. Despite today’s high, the dollar accumulates a fall of 2.59% in November. In 2021, the currency has already appreciated by 5.99%.
The day was also tense on the stock market. The B3 Ibovespa index closed the day at 104,404 points, down 1.82%. This was the second consecutive session of fall in the indicator, which had lost 1.18% on Friday (12).
Two factors contributed to the stock market decline. The first was the disclosure that economic activity fell 0.27% in September. The downturn in the economy pressured the actions of retail companies, which are beginning to feel the drop in sales.
The second factor that reinforced the losses on the stock exchange was the drop in the international price of iron ore. With the slowdown in the Chinese economy, prices for the product are falling across the planet. This affects the actions of Brazilian mining companies, which have the Asian country as their main client.
*With information from Reuters
