Brazil Real Needs to Drop 19% for Sustained Growth, Barbosa Says

By Fabiola Moura

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s currency needs to weaken as much as 19 percent for sustainable economic growth, said Nelson Barbosa, the Brazilian Finance Ministry’s top policy adviser.

The real needs to be at 2.1 to 2.12 per U.S. dollar for growth, Barbosa told reporters at an event in New York. The currency traded at 1.7237 per dollar at 11:10 a.m. New York time.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fabiola Moura in New York at fdemoura@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 4, 2009 11:16 EST

Brazil Real Needs to Drop 19% for Sustained Growth, Barbosa Says