New dollar starting Friday
Changes in the calculation of the Ptax, the reference rate for the US dollar, aim to avoid distortions in the exchange rate.
247_The foreign exchange market is heavily influenced by the will of large investors. Depending on their strategy, the dollar can rise or fall. It's a battle of giants that leaves the small buyer hostage to higher-value transactions. To avoid these distortions, the reference rate for the US dollar, the Ptax, which is used to close most international contracts, will have a new calculation basis starting Friday, July 1st, according to the Central Bank. The change should decrease the volume of trading, but make the flow of trade and investment in the country less dependent on derivatives operations.
The first impact of this new Ptax calculation, which replaces the volume-weighted average with an arithmetic average provided by the largest banks, is the reduced number of transactions by BM&FBovespa brokers, who will no longer use strategies combining futures contracts and the spot market. This attempt to profit from price differences will cease. To avoid losing investors, the Brazilian stock exchange is studying the creation of an alternative to the new Ptax. BM&FBovespa executives plan to present a new electronic platform to investors by October. During this period, the exchange will test the calculations and observe the efficiency of this market.