FX.co ★ Ibovespa Struggles for Direction

On Friday, the Ibovespa index lingered just above the flatline, settling around the 126,500 mark, which helped reduce its weekly losses to about 0.5%. This support came largely from companies in the commodity sector amid a general stabilization in commodity prices. Particularly notable was the performance of Petrobras, a state-owned oil giant, which managed to break a streak of sharp declines and posted a gain of over 0.5%, providing some uplift to the overall market. Nevertheless, global markets remained under pressure due to heightened trade tensions; specifically, China's finance ministry declared an increase in tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%, escalating from the previous 84%, in a direct countermeasure to the U.S. raising tariffs to as much as 145% on Chinese products. The United States, meanwhile, persists with a 10% baseline tariff on most imports, alongside a 25% duty on steel, aluminum, and automotive products, further fueling fears of a recession and putting pressure on riskier assets. On the domestic front, Brazil saw a 0.4% increase in its key economic activity index for February, surpassing expectations and highlighting economic resilience, while annual inflation climbed to 5.48% in March, marking the highest level since February 2023.