1.   A ballooning trade deficit has increased calls to weaken the real to make Brazilian exports more competitive abroad.

2.   Echoing his recent statements, Dornbusch called for the Brazilian real to be weakened before a crisis erupts that could cause investors to bail out of Brazilian securities.

3.   Franco denied the real is being weakened to boost exports.

4.   In the spot market, the central bank intervened to sell dollars to weaken the real as it pushed up against the limit of the new trading mini-band.

5.   Lower rates, however, could weaken the real.

6.   The government then moved to weaken the real to combat a rising trade deficit.

7.   The move comes after weeks of mounting pressure on the government to weaken the real.

8.   The move came after weeks of mounting pressure on the government to weaken the real.

9.   Banks and companies buy dollars as a hedge against an uncertain future, which weakens the real and raises the demand for dollars.