RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazil’s recent exchange rate movements are damaging the predictability of the country’s foreign trade, Foreign Trade Minister Tatiana Prazeres said on Wednesday.
Brazil’s real closed on Wednesday at around 5.52 per dollar, its lowest close since January 2022, amid high interest rates in the US and local budget uncertainties.
“We have to wait and see where it stabilizes, the oscillation damages business predictability,” Prazeres told journalists on the sidelines of an event in Rio de Janeiro.
However, she avoided commenting on whether the trade balance in 2024 could be worse than expected due to a rising US dollar.
In April, Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services cut its forecast for the 2024 trade balance to a surplus of $73.5 billion, from a surplus of $94.9 billion it had previously forecast.
Prazeres, who works at the ministry, also said a Mercosur trade deal with the European Union is still viable, although issues still need to be resolved in the talks.
