Brazil's central bank holds auction to buy dollars

SAO PAULO, March 17 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank said on Monday it would hold an auction to buy dollars on the spot foreign exchange market as part of an ongoing effort to boost international reserves.

The Brazilian real BRBY<BRL=> was 0.7 percent weaker at 1.725 per dollar shortly after the announcement.

The central bank has been buying dollars almost daily since October, helping lift Brazil's reserves to an all-time high of nearly $195 billion. (Reporting by Silvio Cascione, Translated by Todd Benson, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)