The crisis clearly began in summer 1997 with the initial devaluation of Thailand. However, there is no agreement on when the crisis ended. There were basically four phases: fall 1997, when the major problems were in Asia and a few countries in Latin America; spring 1998, when the crisis is perceived to have spread to Russia and Brazil; summer 1998, when Russia
devalued; and fall 1998, when Brazil struggled against devaluation. The crisis from Brazil’s point of view continued at least through the eventual devaluation in January 1999, although by this time most of the Asian countries were starting to recover (and their exchange rates were actually appreciating).