The U.S. dollar on Thursday fell to its lowest level in six years against the Brazilian real, said the Central Bank.

The dollar's price slid 1.16 percent from Wednesday's level to 2.045 reais, lower than the previous record of 2.044 reais registered on March 9, 2001, according to the bank.

The dollar's rate against the real has registered an accumulated drop of 4.26 percent since the beginning of 2007.

Analysts attribute the fall to the rising flow of U.S. dollars into the Brazilian market, as indicated by the current surplus of the country's trade balance.

Dealers revealed that the Central Bank purchased at least 10 offers of U.S. dollars at the auction held before the market closed on Thursday. The government is attempting to halt the fall in order to avoid a rise in the price of Brazilian exports.

However, the attempt did not seem to be effective this time, as the value of the real continued to increase.

The recent rise in the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange benchmark index, which grew by 1.96 percent on Thursday, also contributed to the real's appreciation.

Brazil's state-owned oil and gas company Petrobras was seen as the main driving force for the index, due to the growing expectations aroused by the firm's newly-found exploitation fields in the Campos Basin, Rio de Janeiro state.

Another factor contributing to the real's appreciation is the continuous fall of the EMBI (emerging market bonds index) for Brazil, which reached its lowest level ever of 169 points on Thursday, a proof of foreign investors' growing confidence in Brazil's economy, according to the analysts.