Brazil’s Real Falls as U.S. Slump Hurts Demand for Local Assets

By Adriana Brasileiro

Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s real fell for the first time in three days on signs the U.S. economic slump is worsening, curbing demand for higher-yielding, emerging-market assets.

The real declined 1.8 percent to 2.3577 per dollar at 9:10 a.m. New York time, from 2.3147 yesterday. Brazil’s real is the worst performer against the dollar in the past three months among the 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg, having tumbled 31 percent.

“The market is nervous and investors are reacting irrationally at any bad news,” said Rodrigo Boulos, treasurer at Banif Investment Bank in Sao Paulo.

Durable goods orders in the U.S. fell more than twice as much as forecast in October. Consumer spending dropped 1 percent last month, the most since 2001.

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