MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil: US dollar pierces R$ 6 barrier

Brazil's Central Bank (BCB) did not intervene in the exchange rate

The US dollar closed for the first time above the psychological R$ 6 barrier on another turbulent day in Brazil's markets, Agencia Brasil reported. The local scene continued to reverberate after the spending cut package announced earlier this week by Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, also impacting the stock exchange scene during the day.

The commercial dollar closed Friday at R$6.001, up just 0.19%, after reaching R$ 6.11 at around 10.15 am. It eventually went back down after statements from Haddad and Senate Speaker Rodrigo Pacheco.

Friday's was the highest rate since the creation of the real, representing a 3.21% rise this week and 3.8% in November. The commercial euro ended the day up 0.41% at R$6.348. Brazil's Central Bank (BCB) did not intervene in the exchange rate.

In the stock market, the day was marked by a recovery. After a turbulent morning, B3's Ibovespa index closed at 125,668 points, up 0.85%. At around 11.30 a.m., the indicator fell by 0.53% but reversed the movement and began to rise in the afternoon.

Despite Friday's advance, the stock market lost 2.46% for the week, its worst weekly performance since mid-September. In November, the Ibovespa shrank by 2.9%.

The dollar reached zero after Rodrigo Pacheco made raising the income tax exemption to R$5,000 conditional on the tax situation. Later, at an event organized by the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban), Haddad said that the government could review measures in the tax package sent to Congress, if necessary.