"BRASILIA (Dow Jones)--Brazil's foreign reserves surpassed the $300 billion mark for the first time ever Wednesday according the country's central bank, seeing influence from recent heavy foreign exchange inflows and accelerated dollar buying by the institution.
The bank said foreign reserves Wednesday rose to $300.27 billion from $299.8 billion on Tuesday.
Brazil's foreign reserves have risen rapidly over recent years under the impact of heavy central bank dollar buying to control the appreciation of the country's currency, the real. The real has gained more than 30% against the dollar over the past 24 months in response to hefty incoming foreign investment.
Brazil's reserves had surpassed the $200 billion mark on June 26, 2008, having rising from less than $40 billion in 2002.
In January, the bank acquired nearly $8 billion from the local foreign exchange market following the inflow of foreign investment in the month totaling more than $15 billion.
Brazil currently ranks sixth among nations in accumulation of foreign reserves, coming behind other emerging market nations such as China, Taiwan and India.
-By Gerald Jeffris, Dow Jones Newswires; (5561) 3335-0832, gerald.jeffris@dowjones.com
Brazil's Foreign Reserves Surpass $300 Bln For First Time Ever - WSJ.com:
FEBRUARY 10, 2011, 10:43 A.M. ET
About Me
- Waldemar Jezler
- For over 30 years, Brazilian-American investment banker Waldemar Jezler has worked in the finance sector. Jezler earned his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of São Paulo in Brazil and then went on to attend Harvard Business School for his MBA. While at Harvard, Jezler was highly involved in extracurricular activities, including a term as President of the Ibero American Club.