São Paulo – The US dollar closed down 1.52% to BRL 3.211 in Brazil this Wednesday (21). The drop was prompted by the United States Federal Reserve Bank’s decision to keep the per annum interest rate between 0.25% and 0.5%.
Expectation surrounding today’s Fed meeting had caused the dollar to fluctuate over the past few weeks because whenever the interest rate hikes, investors pull out from other markets to invest in the US.
This Wednesday, the Bank of Japan also made public its decision to proceed with its incentive policy. Brazil’s own Central Bank took action on the futures market to buoy the dollar. The main São Paulo Stock Exchange Index (Ibovespa) closed up 1.14% to 58,393 points, driven by shares of iron and steel companies and of mining company Vale.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
