Brazil’s central bank cut its core interest rate by half a point on Wednesday evening to 8.75 per cent a year amid further signs that investors expect the country to recover more quickly than expected from the global economic crisis.

Brazilian stocks have gained about 33 per cent this year and are back to their level before the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September. The currency, trading on Wednesday at about R$1.90 to the US dollar, has almost recovered its losses since then.