In 2020, the real's devaluation reached 6.22% against the dollar, between January 2 and February 14, and became the currency that lost the most value against the US currency.
In the survey that concluded the devaluation of the real, carried out by Tendências Consultoria based on data from Bloomberg, 31 currencies were considered, among the main countries in the world.
Right after Brazil, the South African rand follows, with -6.11%; the Norwegian krone, with -5.06%); Chilean peso with -5%; Hungarian forint, with -4.6%; and the New Zealand dollar with -4.5%.
At the other extreme, the Mexican peso, at +1.95%, and the Indonesian rupiah, at +1.26%, are registering appreciation compared to the US currency.
Questions about reforms and growth
Silvio Campos Neto, an economist at Tendências Consultoria, says that “The coronavirus has had a significant impact on the devaluation of most emerging currencies. But the real has suffered more, which suggests that internal factors have contributed to this.”
In other words, in addition to the increase in external risk, due to the spread of the virus, doubts within the country contribute to an increase – even more intense – of the dollar here, says Campos Neto.
“On the one hand, there is uncertainty about the continuity of the reform agenda due to political noise. On the other hand, there are also doubts about the pace of economic recovery, following the announcements that have occurred in recent weeks, with emphasis on the performance of industrial production at the end of 2019”, says the economist at Tendências Consultoria.