The dollar returns to R$5,60 amid technical disputes in Brazil and currency appreciation abroad.
In the month, the currency accumulated a gain of 3,04%. However, for the year, the US dollar has accumulated a decline of 9,36%.
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The dollar closed higher against the real on Thursday, again in the R$5,60 range, following the advance of the US currency against some other currencies abroad, a day after the US confirmed a 50% tariff on Brazilian products, but with a series of exceptions.
The first half of the day was also marked by the dispute over the formation of the month-end Ptax rate, which brought volatility to the quotations.
The spot dollar closed the day up 0,21%, at R$5,6004. For the month, the currency accumulated a gain of 3,04%. However, for the year, the US dollar has accumulated a decline of 9,36%.
At 17:08 PM, on the B3 exchange, the dollar for September – which became the most liquid contract this Thursday – was up 0,23%, at R$5,6390.
Calculated by the Central Bank based on spot market quotations, the Ptax serves as a reference for the settlement of futures contracts. At the end of each month, financial agents try to direct it to levels more convenient to their positions, whether they are long (in the sense of rising quotations) or short in dollars (in the sense of falling quotations).
Amid the agents' dispute, the spot dollar fluctuated between a low of R$5,5637 (-0,44%) at 9:02 AM, shortly after opening, and a high of R$5,6256 (+0,66%) at 10:22 AM. After that, the currency returned to fluctuating around stability until the early afternoon, when the Ptax rate is defined, in a clear sign that the dispute over the rate was generating volatility.
With the Ptax rate set (R$5,6021 for sale), the spot currency began to more freely reflect the day's data and news.
The dollar's strengthening against other currencies abroad also provided support for the US currency in Brazil, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated on Wednesday that he is in no hurry to lower interest rates in the United States. In practice, higher interest rates in the US tend to also mean a stronger dollar.
“In the medium term, I still believe in a weaker dollar, due to the uncertainty created by the White House,” said Matheus Spiess, an analyst at Empiricus Research, referring to the tariff war triggered by the US. “But in the short term, as there is a perception of higher interest rates in the case of the Fed, the dollar rises,” he added.
The day was negative for Brazilian assets in general, with a sharp drop in the Ibovespa and a rise in DI (Interbank Deposit) rates and the dollar, after the Central Bank maintained the Selic basic rate at 15% per year the previous day, signaling its intention to continue with this stance in the coming months, and after the US tariff exemptions for Brazil.
In the case of the tariff hike, the assessment among market participants was that the worst had been avoided, but that the crisis triggered by the US had not yet been overcome. Along these lines, the Central Bank cited in its statement on the monetary policy decision the previous day a “more adverse and uncertain” external environment due to the US “trade and fiscal policies.”
This morning, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said that the Brazilian government will appeal the US decision. According to him, the government's contingency plan will also be recalibrated following the exclusions announced by Washington.
Abroad, at 17:33 PM, the dollar index -- which measures the performance of the US currency against a basket of six currencies -- was up 0,28%, at 100,070.
