Brazil's currency, the real, firmed to its strongest close in 12 years on Friday as investors bet domestic interest rates and growth will outpace those in more developed markets. The real jumped 0.3 percent to 1.556 to the dollar. It last ended trading this strong on January 21, 1999, shortly after Brazil's central bank ended its crawling-peg exchange-rate system and let the currency float against the dollar.
The Mexican, Chilean and Colombian pesos all gained. Peru's sol weakened. The real gained 2.2 percent against the dollar this week, it's biggest weekly increase in three months. A week after the last gain of this magnitude.