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Brazil real ends 0.6 pct firmer at 1.839/dollar

SAO PAULO: Brazil's currency, the real BRBY, regained ground against the dollar by the close on Wednesday after a volatile day of trading, with Wall Street still concerned by rising US interest rates, traders said.

With US blue-chip stocks showing gains during the afternoon after two days of sharp declines, the real ended at 1.839 per dollar, 0.6 percent firmer than Tuesday's close of 1.850.

"Basically, what determined the behaviour of the foreign exchange market was the Dow Jones," said Carlos Guzzo, director of market risk at Banco Boavista.

After closing 1999 at 1.806, the real had been sliding since Monday to a low of 1.860 on Tuesday before the Central Bank intervened by selling dollars.

Traders said the Central Bank had consulted the trading desks about exchange rates in in the morning, which they interpreted as a sign that the bank would intervene again if the real began to slip again.-Reuters