BRASILIA: The Brazilian real fell on Thursday due to mounting concerns around this year's elections, underperforming other Latin American currencies which strengthened after weaker-than-expected US inflation figures.
The real slipped 0.7 percent, weighed by concerns that far-right presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro may be unable to campaign even in a likely second-round vote after he underwent a successful emergency surgery overnight.
Bolsonaro, who was stabbed in a campaign event last week, has tapped a University of Chicago-trained banker as his main economic adviser.
Though some investors believed he could gain ground after the incident due to a sympathy vote, a recent poll showed he would likely lose in the second round to most of his main rivals.
Traders fear a leftist president would refrain from cutting government spending to curb debt, which they see as necessary to bringing back Brazil's investment grade sovereign rating.
Those concerns weighed down the Brazilian real on a day when currencies from Chile, Mexico and Colombia rose between 0.7 and 1 percent.
The dollar fell to a near 1-1/2-month low against a group of major currencies after data showed US consumer prices increased less than expected in August, paring traders' outlook that domestic inflation is accelerating.
Weaker inflation could drive the Federal Reserve to hike rates more slowly, bolstering the demand for high-yielding, emerging-market assets.
Signs of reduced trade tensions between China and the United States after Washington reached out to Beijing on Wednesday to restart trade talks also lifted risk appetite worldwide.
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