The commercial dollar rose this afternoon and the Ibovespa, the main index of the Brazilian stock exchange, rose slightly to 0.91%.
This Thursday at around 3:20 pm, the commercial dollar and the Brazilian stock exchange rose. The US currency appreciated by 0.4% and sold at R$ 5.282. Yesterday (1) it reached R$ 5.261 in the sale, setting a new closing record. The Ibovespa that afternoon also grew, advancing 0.91% to 71,609.31 points. Yesterday, it had fallen by 2.81% to 70,966.70 points.
The Ibovespa in March accumulated a loss of approximately 30%.
Oil and unemployment in the US
Today after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, made a statement about his expectation that Russia and Saudi Arabia reach an agreement soon to end their dispute over the oil market. Oil prices rose by around 10%. “There has been a significant increase in oil prices, which is giving some support to the (real) currency,” Luciano Rostagno, chief strategist at Banco Mizuho, told Reuters news agency.
On the other hand, "the new applications for unemployment benefits in the US help to maintain caution", said Rostagno. “The data came in well above the consensus, much worse than expected. This suggests a much larger than expected economic impact on the US economy.”
Last week, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits reached a record 6.65 million, according to information from the US Department of Labor. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims to reach 3.5 million.
Measures to combat the pandemic in Brazil
The Brazilian government's economic measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic were on investors' radar. Yesterday, the government announced the job preservation program that guarantees partial payment compensation for those who have reduced wages and working hours. With the payment of compensation to workers, or the suspension of the employment contract for up to 60 days.
Also yesterday, the National Monetary Council, in an extraordinary session, authorized several measures to alleviate the consequences of the expansion of the pandemic. In this session, the Central Bank will offer up to 10,000 traditional exchange rate swap contracts maturing in October of this year and January 2021, to roll over existing contracts.
