Brazil intervenes in FX markets to arrest real's fall

Brazil intervened in the foreign exchange markets on Thursday for the first time this year, as its currency real (BRL) fell to four-month lows against the US dollar, according to Reuters. 

The central bank sold $1.5 billion in two auctions. USD/BRL rose to 5.5387 on Thursday – the highest level since Nov. 6 – and was last seen at 5.5313. 

With the 10-year US Treasury yield rising almost 100 basis points over its Brazilian counterpart, the cost of opportunity of investing in Brazil has changed dramatically, the head of trading at a bank in Sao Paulo told Reuters.