Brazil’s Real Recovers Losses In Late-Afternoon Trading

Brazil’s real recovered most of Tuesday’s losses in the final hour of trading, despite the concerns about Greece’s debt restructuring.

Traders said a large order to sell dollars may have helped strengthen the Brazilian currency, while investors may also have been positioning themselves for Wednesday’s holiday in the state of Sao Paulo, when markets will be shut.

The dollar gained to BRL1.7652 in the middle of the session, but then slumped late in the afternoon. At 1853 GMT the dollar was trading at BRL1.7529, still slightly weaker from BRL1.7490 late Monday, according to Tullett Prebon via Factset.

Global markets took fright as Greece’s debt renegotiations appeared to stumble. John Chambers, head of Standard & Poor’s sovereign ratings committee, said Greece is “in all likelihood” headed for a default in the first half of 2012.