RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On another day of turbulence in the domestic and international markets, the dollar surpassed R$5.40 and closed at its highest value since January.
The stock market closed with a slight increase, with shares of retail companies compensating for the fall of papers of commodities exporting companies (primary goods with an international quotation).
The commercial dollar closed this Tuesday, July 12, at R$5.436, up R$0.068 (+1.27%). The price opened close to stability but rose soon after the opening of the North American market, shooting up during the afternoon until closing near the maximum of the day.
The currency is at its highest level since January 24, when it closed at R$5.50. With yesterday’s performance, the dollar accumulated a high of 3.98% in July. The currency still falls 2.41% in 2022. Since it reached R$4.60 at the beginning of April, the dollar has risen 18.06%.
In the stock market, the day was also tense. The B3’s Ibovespa index closed at 98,271 points, up 0.06%. The indicator came to operate at a high during the afternoon, supported by retail companies, but the fall in the price of various commodities pushed down shares of oil and steel companies.
Investors started to buy dollars globally ahead of the release of June inflation data in the United States, scheduled to be released today, July 13.
If the index comes higher than expected, bets increase that the Federal Reserve (FED, North American Central Bank) will raise the basic interest rates by 0.75 percentage points in the next meeting.
Higher rates stimulate capital flight from emerging countries, such as Brazil.
Other factors contributed to international pessimism, such as the announcement of new lockdowns in China to contain the covid-19 pandemic. As the Asian country is a great consumer of commodities, the measure contributed to the price of Brent oil (used in international negotiations) to fall to US$99.49 a barrel, the lowest level since April 11.
In Brazil, investors continue to pay attention to the vote on the proposed amendment to the Constitution (PEC) that raises social benefits and creates aid for truck drivers and taxi drivers. Expected to be voted tonight in the House of Representatives, the proposal has an impact of R$41.3 billion on the Union’s budget this year.
With information from Reuters