Brasília – Following a 4-day hike, the US dollar closed down today. The US currency was selling for BRL 3.908 by closing time this Thursday (22nd), down BRL 0.035 (-0.9%) from its closing price on Wednesday (21st). The dollar is down 1.5% to date in October, but up 47% so far this year.
The trading day was marked by volatility. The dollar was up in the early morning, and sold for as much as BRL 3.961 around 10:30pm. At 11:20pm, it dropped to around BRL 3.91. It climbed again as the afternoon began, but lost steam again near 4:30 pm, half an hour before closing time.
Improvements in the foreign scenario influenced the exchange rate. China’s Shanghai Stock Exchange rebounded after a sharp drop early in the week. The European Central Bank governor Mario Draghi said monetary stimulus in the Eurozone can be sustained for longer than expected, with near-zero interest rates in countries that adopt the common currency.
In the United States, the requests for unemployment insurance, which work as a thermometer for the labor market, went up again. A possible delay in the recovery of the world’s largest economy indicates the possibility that the Federal Reserve, the North American central bank, could postpone the raise of interest rates in the United States, currently at the lowest level in history. Low interest rates in advanced countries encourage inflow of capital in emerging countries, such as Brazil, pressing down the price of dollar.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
