President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his government had taken steps to safeguard Brazil’s fiscal rules and reaffirmed his support of incoming central bank chief Gabriel Galipolo, his first public comments since returning to Brasilia following emergency surgery.

Brazil’s real has fallen to its weakest level against the dollar since the currency was introduced in 1994, undercut by investors’ frustration with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's efforts to rein in government spending.

For the third time in as many days, Brazil’s lower house weakened key provisions of a spending cut package meant to ease investor fears about the country’s deteriorating fiscal situation.