Brazil Thursday eliminated a tax on foreign currency transaction in a bid to halt the depreciation of its currency, local media reported.

The Tax on Credit, Exchange and Insurance Operation from between 0.38 to 1.5 percent, was eliminated for the transfer of foreign currency abroad, the remittances of taxes and the buying of foreign currency.

This measure is designed to benefit Brazilian export companies as well as companies holding debts on dollars, said the local media, citing Brazilian financial authorities.

Brazil's Central Bank has so far injected 22.9 billion U.S. dollars into the country's economy in a bid to boost its currency against the U.S. dollar since the world financial shock began to take hold in mid-September.

Brazil's real has continued to drop since mid-September, reaching 2.5 to the dollar Wednesday in the Brazilian exchange market.

The country has adopted a series of measures to curb the decline of its currency, including direct selling of dollar reserves in the market, offering loans in U.S. dollars with an option of re-buying and selling exchange swap contracts.

(Xinhua News Agency October 24, 2008)