Brazil’s Real Rises as Central Bank Holds Interest Rates Steady

By Adriana Brasileiro

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s real gained for a third day after the central bank held the target lending rate at 13.75 percent yesterday, maintaining the yield advantage of the nation’s fixed-income assets.

The currency gained 2.3 percent to 2.3927 per dollar at 6:55 a.m. New York time, from 2.4466 yesterday.

The yield on Brazil’s overnight futures contract for January 2010 fell 17 basis points, or 0.17 percentage point, to 12.77 percent.

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