The price of gasoline at gas stations in the country rose 1.47% according to the weekly survey carried out by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP). The latest edition of the survey, released today (17), indicated that Brazilian consumers paid an average of R$ 4.86 per liter in the week of October 9 to 15.
The increase was registered after 15 weeks of successive declines, and follows a new rise in gasoline at the Maritape Refinery, the largest in the country under the control of the private sector. Acelen, the company responsible for its operation, announced on Saturday (15) a readjustment of 2%. She had already corrected the values 7 days earlier by 9.7%.
Acelen’s ads follow the trend of variations in the international market. The price of a barrel of Brent oil, which registered a sharp drop in September, reaching US$ 82, rose again above US$ 90 this month. The rise was influenced by the decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to make a deep cut in production.
Petrobras, however, has not announced changes in prices at its refineries for more than a month. The latest change was a 7% reduction announced in early September.
Since 2016, Petrobras has adopted the Import Parity Price Policy (PPI), which links the prices practiced in the country to those practiced in the international market. The reference is the barrel of Brent oil, quoted in dollars.
Based on the PPI, fuel prices rose sharply in the first half of the year, which led to expressions of dissatisfaction from the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro. In May, he changed the command of the state-owned company for the fourth time during his term, appointing Caio Mário Paes de Andrade. Bolsonaro also edited a provisional measure, later approved in Congress, relieving taxes and contributing to the drop in fuel prices.
There was, however, no announcement of a change in the PPI. On social media, opposition parliamentarians warn that the government has been putting pressure on Petrobras to hold prices in the midst of the electoral process. The second round will take place on October 30th. In response, Bolsonaro has published publications claiming that the exemption made it possible to maintain prices at the current level and consequently allowed food to become cheaper.
According to a calculation by the Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers (Abicom), the average value of gasoline in the country’s refineries is lagged by R$ 0.30 per liter, or 8%. The entity monitors almost daily the variations taking into account the PPI.
diesel and gas
Brazilian gas stations also raised prices for hydrous ethanol. It is the second consecutive increase. The liter has been sold on average at R$ 3.46. The value is 2.08% higher than that recorded in the previous survey.
The ANP’s weekly survey also points to an increase of 0.33% in the price of cooking gas. The 13 kilo cylinder has been sold at an average of R$ 110.99. Diesel, on the other hand, remained stable, being sold at R$6.51 last week, R$0.01 below the last survey.
