Merval, Bovespa drop

The panel of leading stocks index fell 1.6 percent to 3,456.26 points. It accumulates a 1.9 percent decrease so far in 2011.

The US currency traded for $4.005/$3.97 pesos, dropped half a cent compared to the previous closing price in the main banks and foreign exchange houses in Buenos Aires downtown.

The Brazilian currency dropped 0.1 percent to 1.686 per US dollar on the local spot market after the central bank created a reserve requirement on banks' short positions on the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the main indicator of the Brazilian stock market's average performance dropped 0.7 percent to 70,057 points.