The Brazilian real strengthened slightly to 5.16 per USD after reaching a more than one-month low of 5.21 on August 14th, amid expectations of new foreign-exchange operations by the BCB. The central bank is expected to intervene to increase dollar supply and ensure market liquidity, supporting the real and influencing exchange-rate formation. Meanwhile, labor market data confirmed expectations for another decline in Brazil’s unemployment rate, from 5.4% to 5.3%. The labor market remains highly resilient, with employment and formal employment reaching record highs, which could lead the Copom to pause its 25-basis-point-per-meeting easing cycle. However, Brazil’s inflation rate eased to 4.25% in the first half of August from 4.44% in July, remaining below the central bank’s 4.5% upper tolerance band.