BOVESPA, COMMODITIES BOOM LEAD US DOLLAR TO PLUNGE AGAINST BRAZIL'S REAL

The Brazilian central bank bought up dollars on Friday, May 8, in an attempt to stop the precipitous plunge of the USD against the BRL. In spite of the Bank's efforts, the USD closed at BRL 2.068, the lowest rate since October 3, 2008. This past week, the dollar depreciated 5.18%, with a 2.04% drop on Friday alone.

The ongoing boom in commodities has kept a steady stream of money coming into the country, while foreign investors poured BRL 2.061 billion (about USD 1 billion) into Bovespa, the Sao Paulo stock exchange, on May 4 and 5 alone, the month's first workdays. This flow brings the total YTD to BRL 7.719, or about USD 3.747 billion.