Brazil's currency strengthens as central bank hikes rates while Fed cuts

BY Reuters | ECONOMIC | 09/19/24 08:21 AM EDT

BRASILIA, Sept 19 (Reuters) - The Brazilian real opened higher on Thursday after the nation's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate a day earlier, diverging from the U.S. Federal Reserve, which kicked off its anticipated easing cycle.

The currency rose more than 1% against the U.S. dollar early in the session, extending its recent strengthening trend. Policymakers in Brazil hiked rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday to 10.75%. (Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Gabriel Araujo and Tomasz Janowski)

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