With the dollar at R$2, Mantega rules out intervention in the exchange rate.
"The dollar is floating; it will fluctuate according to the market," said the Finance Minister; he assured that the devaluation "is not a concern."
Agency Brazil – The devaluation of the real “does not worry” the Brazilian government, which “never established and will not establish” a price parameter for the dollar. “The dollar is floating, it will fluctuate according to the market,” said Finance Minister Guido Mantega. The US currency opened higher today (14). In the early afternoon, the dollar surpassed the R$ 2,00 mark.
Mantega preferred to view the appreciation of the US dollar from the perspective of exports, recalling the beneficial effects of currency devaluation for the country's industry. "A high dollar benefits the Brazilian economy because it makes products more competitive. It means that Brazilian industry can compete better with imported products, which become more expensive, and can export more cheaply, therefore it is not a concern."
The rise in the dollar is attributed to the economic crisis affecting the eurozone, especially the situation in Greece. The country is facing a serious fiscal crisis, coupled with political instability. Since the parliamentary elections at the beginning of the month, when no party won a majority, the Greek government has been unable to form a coalition government. Yesterday (13), the President of Greece, Karolos Papoulias, and the leaders of the country's three main parties failed in yet another attempt to form a coalition government. Given the Greek situation, analysts are already considering the possibility of Greece leaving the group of countries that adopted the euro as their single currency.