Value of the US currency is the lowest since 2024; Brazilian stock exchange renewed record
O dollar registered this Friday (20), a drop of 0.98%, in Brazil, closing at R$ 5.17. This is due to the decline of the US currency internationally after the United States Supreme Court overturned import tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
The Ibovespa also gained momentum throughout the afternoon, following the news surrounding the overthrow of American tariffs, and for the first time it closed at around 190 thousand pointsa level that had already been touched during the February 11th session. At this Friday’s maximum, it was also 190,726.78 points, just above the 190.5 thousand points seen nine days earlier. In closing, it was the 12th record of 2026, considering the series starting on January 14th.
With this, the New York stock exchanges gained momentum mid-afternoonamid speeches by US President Donald Trump that he would sign an executive order imposing a 10% global tariff based on Section 122 of the Trade Act, hours after the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs adopted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The development came with some relief because Trump was expected to resort, at the stroke of a pen, to greater compensation, after the US Supreme Court’s overturning of the tariff, announced in the early afternoon. The drop in prices already gave impetus, at the turn of the morning to the afternoon, to the New York indices and the appetite for shares in B3, also considering a favorable reading of the American consumer confidence index, in the University of Michigan metric, which ended up leaving US GDP growth in the backgroundlower than expected.
For Matthew Ryan, head of market strategy at Ebury, the Supreme Court’s decision on Trump’s tariffs “it’s unlikely to be a major watershed for the markets”. “Not only was it widely expected, but the president has already signaled that he will quickly resort to other legal instruments to achieve similar trade restrictions, and has several mechanisms at his disposal to circumvent the verdict.”
According to him, although some volatility can be expected in the short term, Trump’s long-term tariff strategy is unlikely to be harmed, “as long as the White House is able to replicate the regime through alternative means”.
In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, Ryan notes, the dollar depreciated. “We believe this movement in the dollar exchange rate likely reflects growing fiscal concerns, as markets fear that any massive tariff refunds could generate a significant deficit in the US budget, an increase in the fiscal deficit and greater debt issuance.” Here, at closing, the American currency in cash was R$5.1759, down 0.98% in the session.
Brazilian financial market agents are more pessimistic about the prospects for the performance of the Bovespa Index next week. In this Friday’s edition of Thermometer Broadcast Bolsa, Grupo Estado’s real-time news system, the portion of professionals who expect the market to fall Ibovespa rose from 12.50% to 50%. Estimates for the index to rise next week fell from 37.50% to 25%. The indicator’s stability bets also fell from 50% to 25%.
*With information from Estadão Conteúdo
