UPDATE 1-Brazil central bank ready to act to contain crisis

Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:54pm EDT
(Adds comment on measures, background)
SAO PAULO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank is prepared to take additional measures to alleviate the impact of the global financial crisis on Latin America's largest economy, the bank's president said on Tuesday.
"The crisis is serious ... We're prepared to act and to take the necessary measures. The country is in a position to do so," Henrique Meirelles said in a speech in Sao Paulo.
Brazil's stock and currency markets have taken a pounding in recent weeks as concerns mount about the health of the U.S. financial system, prompting the central bank to resume selling dollar repurchase agreements to ease a liquidity crunch.
Meirelles did not specify what additional measures the bank could take to limit the impact of the financial crisis, other than to say that "hasty measures tend to prove ineffective."
The snowballing global financial crisis has begun to have an impact on Brazilian exporters, which are struggling with rising interest rates on credit lines. A few exporters have also racked up big losses in the derivatives market. (Reporting by Aluisio Alves; Writing by Todd Benson; Editing by James Dalgleish)