Rio, May 27, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Greater or lesser rolling-over of debt instruments does not determine the value of the exchange rate, the Minister of Finance, Antônio Palocci, affirmed yesterday (26) at the Federation of Industries of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan), in commenting the Central Bank's decision not to announce the percentage of exchange-rate linked debt instruments it would roll over. There may be a certain degree of nervousness, which is natural, in his assessment.

He emphasized that the idea is not to define a value for the exchange rate. "What we desire over the long run, and for this reason we have been doing it slowly since the beginning of the year, is a reduction in our exchange-rate linked debt, because this is health for Brazil. If, at the end of every year, we can owe less in foreign currency, this is good for the economy and the country's health," he said.