RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a day of relief in the international market, the dollar fell again and closed at the second-lowest price of the year. After four consecutive falls, the stock market had a strong recovery and reached 114 thousand points.
The commercial dollar closed on Wednesday, March 9, sold at R$5.011, down R$0.043 (-0.84%). The quote operated below R$5 during most of the day, reaching R$4.98 around 1:40 PM. However, near the end of the day, investors took advantage of the low price to buy dollars, causing the currency to go back above the R$5 barrier.
The US currency accumulated a 2.81% drop in March. In 2022, the retreat will reach 10.14%.
The stock market also had a day of euphoria. The Ibovespa index, from B3, closed at 113,900 points, up 2.43%. The indicator followed the stock markets worldwide, which rose amid a temporary relief in the shortage of oil and the prospect of a ceasefire to create humanitarian corridors in Ukraine.
Today the International Energy Agency announced the release of 62.7 million barrels of oil from member countries’ stockpiles. The increased supply caused relief in the market. The price of a barrel of Brent crude (used in international contracts) fell 13.16%, to US$111. On March 8, the barrel had closed at US$128.
Concerning the dollar, the currencies of the main emerging countries and Eastern Europe were appreciated in a global search for riskier investments. In Brazil, high interest rates, above 10% per year, and the reallocation of flows from Russia to other emerging economies have maintained the inflow of foreign currency into the country.
With information from Reuters, Agência Brasil