The Brazilian Real is holding against the US Dollar at R$5.091851 today, failing to gain ground despite domestic data that would typically support the currency, as market attention remains fixed on a potentially hawkish Federal Reserve rate decision on Wednesday, July 29. Brazil’s mid-month inflation preview, the IPCA-15, which was released today, eased significantly more than expected, slowing to 0.06% for July against a median forecast of 0.20%. However, the positive domestic print was overridden by a strengthening US Dollar, fueled by rising speculation that the Federal Reserve will surprise markets with an interest rate hike this week.