Brazil's financial world experienced a shock on December 18, when the country's currency, the real, fell 2.8% — hitting an all-time low of 6.2 reais per $1 (6.5 per €1) and shedding almost a quarter of its value over the year.

The crash triggered frantic activity in the offices of Brazilian banks and the government of the left-wing president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In the days before the meltdown, Brazil's central bank had repeatedly intervened in currency markets to stem the slide but largely failed to stop the bleeding.

Economists say the real's weakness, which will increase the costs of imports, could trigger inflation, and put further pressure on the currency.

The gradual devaluation of the real over 2024 is the result of global investors growing increasingly concerned about the Brazilian economy's structural problems and the fiscal remedies offered by Lula's government.

The national minimum wage, for example, has fallen to the equivalent of just $251 (€240.79) — effectively half of the purchasing power under the presidency of Dilma Rousseff from 2011 to 2016, who was also known for her........

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