São Paulo – Yet another drop in the oil barrel price made waves in the leading financial markets, and its impact was also felt in Brazil. Wednesday (20) saw the US dollar close up 1.2% to BRL 4.10, the highest level since September 2015. The euro and pound also climbed.
The main index of the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Ibovespa) closed down 1.19% to 37,603 points. Petrobras was among the biggest losing stock. Preferred shares were selling for BRL 4.43 at closing time, down 4.94%. Ordinary shares with voting rights slid 3.58% to BRL 5.93.
The WTI oil barrel traded below USD 27, with the Brent barrel going for USD 28. Due to this slump in prices, with a short-term rebound unlikely to happen, London’s FTSE index closed down 3.46%, Paris’ lost 3.85%, and Milan’s fell 4.83%. The Dow Jones index was down 0.8%. Besides the oil price, expectations on whether the benchmark interest rate would be raised sparked tension in Brazilian stock markets.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
