Brazil's real steady after ministerial reshuffle, jobs data

Brazil's real stabilized on Tuesday after six straight days of losses against the dollar, as investors reacted to President Jair Bolsonaro's major ministerial reshuffle amid criticism over his government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

The real edged up to trade at 5.764 per dollar, remaining near the three-week low of 5.806 per dollar hit on Monday.

Regional peers including the Mexican peso and Colombian peso were trading marginally lower as oil prices slipped and the prospect of a stronger US economic recovery lifted the dollar.

Bolsonaro made a series of changes to his cabinet on Monday, with three ministers leaving the far-right leader's government. The departures included Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo, a China hawk who faced mounting criticism over his failure to guarantee additional COVID-19 vaccine supplies for Latin America's largest economy.

Brazil is experiencing its worst phase of the pandemic, with deaths topping 3,000 a day as a contagious new variant rages through the country.

That, along with a slow vaccination program, has put the Brazilian currency on track for nearly a 10% decline this quarter, making it among the worst performing emerging market currencies in the past three months.

The real got an additional boost on Tuesday after data showed Brazil's economy added a net 401,639 formal jobs in February, the highest monthly figure in at least 20 years.

The Bovepsa stock index rose 0.6%, with travel-related stocks among the top gainers. Tourism operator CVC Brasil and airlines Gol and Azul each jumped about 6%.

Stock markets in Mexico, Colombia and Chile were trading lower, hurt by a drop in commodity prices.