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Brazil real ends bit weaker as banks soak up dlrs

SAO PAULO: Brazil's real currency finished a bit weaker Wednesday after some banks that didn't manage to roll over their dollar-linked debt soaked up US currency in the market, traders said.

The real closed 0.1 percent weaker at 1.779 per dollar.

"The banks that did not take part in the NBC-E auction had to look for dollars in the spot or futures market," one trader said.

The Central Bank Wednesday sold 800 million reais worth of NBC-E dollar-indexed notes to help banks roll over older NBC-Es worth 830 million reais that fall due Thursday.

The banks that failed to buy the hedging instrument ended up buying dollars in the market and pressuring the real a bit, traders said.

The real had finished Monday at a six-month high of 1.773 per dollar, boosted by two successful sovereign debt issues last week. Trading was extremely thin Tuesday due to a Sao Paulo holiday celebrating the founding of the city.-Reuters