Brazil's real ends down 0.08 pct as $400 mln flee
Reuters, Friday, October 23, 1998 at 15:48
SAO PAULO, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Brazil's real currency
weakened 0.08 percent to close at 1.1910 to the dollar in the
commercial foreign exchange market on Friday, as dealers
estimated about $400 million had fled markets, pressuring the
exchange rate.
By 1730 local/1930 GMT, $127 million had flown out of the
commercial forex market while $87 million left the floating
forex market, but dealers speculated the total amount would
grow once all deals were accounted for by the day's end.
Friday's outflow showed dollar flight from Brazil's
financial markets was far from ending. Another $468 million had
fled on Thursday.
About $30 billion had escaped Brazil's forex markets in
August and September after Russia devalued its currency.
Meanwhile, dealers said Friday's fall in the real was also
due to the Central Bank lowering its real-dollar currency mini-
band earlier in the day.
The bank lowered the mini-band to between 1.1805 and 1.1925
reais to the dollar from a former 1.1795 and 1.1915 in a
regular auction. The bank lowers the mini-band about seven
times a month, aiming to devalue the currency by about 7.5
percent every year.
In the floating forex market, the real ended down 0.08
percent at 1.1930 to the dollar, while in the parallel market,
the currency finished up 0.39 percent at 1.28 per U.S.
currency.
Copyright 1998, Reuters News Service |
