Brazil registered its second-largest volume of net monthly foreign-exchange inflows on record in July. Net dollar inflows in the month reached 15.83 billion, compared with 2.56 billion in net outflows in June and only 713 million in net inflows in July last year.
While in the rest of South America governments are trying to make the inflow of US dollars more difficult in Argentina the greenback is in great demand as the coming presidential election has triggered a solid “flight to safety”.
The Argentine Central bank has purchased so far this week 500 million US dollars to ensure that the country’s exporters retain a favourable exchange rate and importers are not that tempted to buy foreign goods.
“Saving in US dollars or in soybeans is the same” cautioned Argentine economist Carlos Melconian, who argued that “grain and oilseed prices are more linked to the value of the dollar than to demand for food produce”.
US Federal Reserve rejected criticism that its actions (‘accommodative monetary policy’) have pushed down the foreign exchange value of the US dollar and thereby boosted the price of commodities, adding that the Fed is “fully committed” to maintaining the dollar’s purchasing power and to keeping inflation in check.
The US dollar continues to slide in the Uruguayan foreign exchange market having lost 1.85% in May vis-à-vis the Uruguayan peso, completing the steepest monthly drop so far in 2011.
China's Yuan has hit a record high against the US dollar after the US Treasury department said the Chinese currency was undervalued but not manipulated. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) fixed the Yuan's mid-point at 6.4856 against the US dollar on Monday.
Testifying before Congress Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega said that international commodity prices are behind much of the country’s rising inflation, but insisted the government will take action to keep prices in check and prevent the currency from strengthening too far too fast.
United States crude oil futures rose Thursday to hit a 31-month high settlement after a volatile trading session while the US dollar fell to a three-year low against major currencies following on the Federal Reserve's intention to keep interest rates near zero.
Gold advanced to a record, set for the best run since November 2006 after rising for nine days, as investors sought to protect their wealth against a weaker dollar, faster inflation and geopolitical tension in the Middle East. Silver climbed to a 31-year high.