RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On a day of financial market optimism, the U.S. currency closed at its lowest level in a month. The commercial dollar was sold on Monday, December 9th, at R$ 4.129, with a drop of R$ 0.017 (-0.4 percent). The U.S. currency is at its lowest level since November 7th (R$ 4.093).
This was the sixth session with a drop. The currency opened higher, reaching R$ 4.16 at the top of the day, around 11:30. In the early afternoon, however, the rate began to fall.
This week, the Central Bank continued to intervene in the exchange rate, but at a slower pace. Since the beginning of last week, the monetary authority has been selling at sight US$500 million (R$2 billion) of international reserves per day, against daily auctions of US$ 1 billion two weeks ago. Earlier this evening, the Central Bank said it will sell US$500 million at Tuesday’s auction, on December 10th.
In the stock market, the day was one of profit-taking. After three consecutive record-breaking sessions, the Ibovespa index, of B3, the former São Paulo Stock Exchange, closed at 110,997 points, down 0.13 percent.