Brazil's Central Bank (BC) decided this Thursday, October 23, to implement a foreign exchange auction program (contracts that swap interest gains for oscillation of foreign currencies) of up to US$ 50 billion.
According to a release of the Central Bank, the measure is part of a strategy for "mitigating the impact of the international financial crisis on the Brazilian economy."
According to the Central Bank, sales will be carried out according to the demand for liquidity (funds available) from the markets.
"The swaps, as well as foreign reserve operations (sales of dollars) and secured foreign currency loans, are effective mechanisms and will continue to be used to the extent deemed necessary by the Central Bank, so as to ensure the good functioning of markets," claims the Central Bank's release.
This decision by the Central Bank comes at a time when the United States currency is heavily appreciated. Early today (23), the dollar was worth approximately 2.50 Brazilian reais.
US$ 50 Million for Agriculture
Brazilian ministers of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Reinhold Stephanes, and of Science and Technology, Sergio Rezende, have launched the program Agricultural Defense: More Science, More Technology.
Investment should total 120 million reais (US$ 50.7 million), in three years, in research projects aimed at expanding and improving actions in agricultural defense – the area in charge of certifying product quality in Brazil.
The first-of-its-kind initiative will count of the partnership of the Agricultural Defense Secretariat (SDA), of the Ministry of Agriculture, and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
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