The dollar rose again this Thursday (20), reaching close to R$ 4.40 and updating the closing record. All this amid the strength of the US currency abroad and the absence of more positive prospects for the real.
The US currency reached a new record high and was sold at R$ 4.3917. Up 0.61%.
The currency set a new nominal closing record (without accounting for inflation). At its daily high, it reached R$ 4.3982 – the highest intraday price ever recorded.
At the same time, the tourism dollar was traded at R$ 4.5877, disregarding the IOF charge.
The dollar is up 2.49% in the monthly partial, and marks an advance of 9.52% for the year.
“It’s more of the same,” Italo Abucater, foreign exchange manager at Tullett Prebon, told Reuters about this session’s movement.
"The US currency was already appreciating globally. The international market is in a bad place, and the real could experience some distorted shocks one day or another, working in tandem with the international market," reiterates Italo.
According to Abucater, the national situation also contributed to the dollar's shift. Given the lack of prospects for cash flows, the delay in economic reforms, and low interest rates in Brazil, the real's attractiveness was diminished.
"We don't have interest rates, so there's no reward for investors. The Central Bank talks about ending the cycle (of interest rate cuts), but activity indicates that another cut will be necessary. And this will affect the dollar," he adds.
Outside Brazil, the novel coronavirus from China remains the main focus of attention for traders and investors. Despite the drop in new infections this Thursday, they were reacting to news that scientists had warned about the possibility of the pathogen spreading more easily than expected. This has exacerbated fears about the disease's economic impact and generated risk aversion.