Brazil Real Falls on Speculation of U.S. Credit Market Woes

By Adriana Brasileiro

Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil's real fell for a fourth day amid speculation of growing U.S. credit market woes and aversion to higher-yielding, emerging-market assets.

``We are riding a wave of pessimism about U.S. markets and the economy, and riskier assets inevitably suffer,'' said Luiz Carlos Barroso Simao, chief strategist at Mandarim Investimentos, an asset-management firm in Rio de Janeiro.

The real fell 0.3 percent to 1.6436 per dollar at 9:39 a.m. New York time. The currency has declined 4.7 percent this month, paring its advance this year to 8.3 percent. It remains the biggest gainer among the 16 most-actively traded currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

The yield on Brazil's zero-coupon bonds due in January 2010 rose 1 basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, to 14.74 percent, according to Banco Votorantim. The yield on the overnight interest futures contract for January delivery was little changed at 13.80 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adriana Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro at abrasileiro@bloomberg.net