In 2020, the devaluation of the real reached 6.22% in relation to the dollar, between January 2nd and February 14th, and became the one that lost the most value in relation to the North American currency.
In the survey that concluded the devaluation of the real, carried out by Tendências Consultoria based on Bloomberg data, 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 weight with -5%; Hungarian guilder, with -4.6%; and the New Zealand dollar with -4.5%.
At the other extreme, the Mexican peso, with +1.95% and the Indonesian rupiah, with +1.26%, registered appreciation compared to the US currency.
Questions about reforms and growth
Silvio Campos Neto, economist at Tendências Consultoria, says that “The coronavirus has had an important 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 – in 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 recovery of the economy, after the announcements that took place in recent weeks, with emphasis on the performance of industrial production at the end of 2019”, says the economist at Tendências Consultoria.
