SAO PAULO: The Brazilian real drifted higher on Monday as dollars flowed back into the country, but the Mexican peso dipped in line with US stocks, with investors pocketing recent gains.
Trading volumes remained subdued after the holiday period, as a US session void of relevant economic data releases failed to inspire investors.
The Brazilian real gained 0.3 percent to 2.0295 per greenback as dollars resumed flowing in following a seasonal period of scarcity. Recent measures taken by the central bank to facilitate foreign capital inflows also supported the currency.
"Outflows have been diminishing and we're even seeing (net) inflows after the end of the year, when companies often send profits abroad and hedge their FX positions," said Mauricio Nakahodo, an economic research consultant with Tokyo-Mitsubishi bank in Sao Paulo.
Inflation concerns also caused many investors to bet the central bank would favor a real just slightly weaker than 2 per dollar to avoid a pass-through to prices.
In Mexico, the peso weakened 0.2 percent to 12.7701 after a 1 percent rally in the first week of the year. Traders said investors were pocketing part of those gains, taking a cue from equity losses on Wall Street.
Center>Copyright Reuters, 2013
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