# Brazil: Covid-19’s waves begin to wash up on LatAm’s shores - Euromoney

> The real accelerated its depreciation in early March 2020, with the dollar closing at $4.58 on Wednesday and the real down 13.9% year to date by Thursday. The central bank's $1 billion FX swap intervention failed to halt the decline. Markets priced in further Selic rate cuts after the US Fed's 50 basis point cut, and Brazil's 2019 growth was confirmed at 1.1%.

- Date: 2020-03-06 · published 2020-03-06T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region Brazil · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/9275-brazil-covid-19-s-waves-begin-to-wash-up-on-latam-s-shores-euromoney
- Commodities: [Brazilian Real (BRL per USD)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/USDBRL.md)

## Why it matters

Currency weakness and expected rate cuts raise the risk of a slowdown in Brazilian demand and make Brazilian export supply cheaper in dollars. Brazil's heavy reliance on China, which takes 27.6% of its exports, adds to the downside risk for agricultural prices.

## Read by commodity

- USDBRL: bullish ▲

## Linked price moves

| Commodity | Date | Window | Change % | z-score | Why linked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| USDBRL | 2020-03-05 | 1 | +2.3% | 3.7 | Dated a day after the move, but describes the accelerating early-March real depreciation, failed central bank swap intervention and Selic cut pricing that contributed to the same slide, though it is partly confirmatory rather than a distinct driver. |

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| USDBRL | 2018-04-24 | [Brazil FX: What’s driving the BRL’s underperformance? - Euromoney](https://feedsoft.ai/events/65703-brazil-fx-what-s-driving-the-brl-s-underperformance-euromoney.md) | +1.1% | +7.6% |
| USDBRL | 2020-07-23 | [Latam FX weakens, Brazil's real comes off one-month high \| Financial Post](https://feedsoft.ai/events/52312-latam-fx-weakens-brazil-s-real-comes-off-one-month-high-financial-post.md) | +1.0% | +8.0% |
| USDBRL | 2024-08-30 | [Political headwinds continue to drive LatAm FX uncertainty - Euromoney](https://feedsoft.ai/events/29019-political-headwinds-continue-to-drive-latam-fx-uncertainty-euromoney.md) | -0.8% | -3.6% |
| USDBRL | 2021-02-09 | [Brazil's real leads Latam FX losses on fiscal concerns - Markets - Business Recorder](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48852-brazil-s-real-leads-latam-fx-losses-on-fiscal-concerns-markets-business-recorder.md) | +1.2% | +9.3% |
| USDBRL | 2019-08-01 | [Brazil's Larger-Than-Expected Rate Cut Is a Sign of More to Come](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10779-brazil-s-larger-than-expected-rate-cut-is-a-sign-of-more-to-come.md) | +6.1% | +10.6% |

## Sources

- euromoney.com: https://www.euromoney.com/article/27bjsstsqxhkmh1znxfrm/foreign-exchange/brazil-covid-19s-waves-begin-to-wash-up-on-latams-shores/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.