Thu May 22, 2014 10:26am EDT
(Reuters) – Foreign investors’ demand for currency swaps under Brazil’s central bank intervention program has decreased slightly, central bank president Alexandre Tombini said on Thursday.
“We have seen demand cooling down recently. Swaps continue to be channeled through non-financial companies, but foreign investors have pared back slightly (their demand),” Tombini said at an event in Sao Paulo.
The currency swaps provide hedges against currency losses. The central bank started its daily intervention program in the foreign exchange market in August to stem a sharp drop in the Brazilian real, but slowed its pace this year.
Tombini noted that the intervention program has helped reduce volatility in Brazil’s markets, and reiterated that the central bank has about $380 billion in currency reserves that help reduce Brazil’s vulnerability to foreign shocks.
Volatility has also decreased recently possibly because of expectations for another round of monetary easing in Europe, Tombini added.