Brazil's central bank holds auction to buy dollars

SAO PAULO, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Brazil's central bank said on Friday it would hold an auction to buy dollars on the spot foreign exchange market as part of a continuing effort to boost international reserves.

The Brazilian real BRBY was 0.4 percent weaker at 1.76 per U.S. dollar shortly after the announcement.

The bank resumed buying dollars in early October after a two-month hiatus from the currency market. It had previously bought greenbacks daily for months, helping lift Brazil's reserves to a record of more than $181 billion. (Reporting by Silvio Cascione; Translated by Elzio Barreto, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)