Brazil cenbank to sell dollars on spot market as currency nears 5-year low

SAO PAULO: Brazil's central bank offered on Wednesday to sell dollars on the spot market through repurchase agreements, in a bid to ease a currency selloff that has driven the real to its weakest level in nearly five years.

The central bank said in a statement that on Thursday it will offer as much as $4 billion with repurchase dates set to Nov. 1 and April 1. It is the second time this week that the bank has resorted to this type of intervention.

The announcement was made after the bank conducted a survey to gauge market demand for dollar lines, traders said.

The Brazilian real plunged 2.3 percent on Thursday to close at 2.4501 per dollar, its weakest level since December 2008.