Brazilian real and Vespa index fall after Lula da Silva's presidential election victory Brazil's currency fell 8% against the US dollar to a record 5.41, the worst fall since 1999, according to the Financial Times. Sao Paulo's Vespa index fell 13.9 percent after a brief emergency trading halt, its biggest drop since 2020. The market reaction was caused by investors' concerns about a possible increase in government debt and budget spending under the new head of state.