President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said this Sunday (5) that Petrobras will start reducing fuel prices this week. In an interview with Poder360 website, the president commented on a possible meeting between him and mayors to discuss public transport.
“Petrobras starts to announce a reduction in the price of fuel this week. What they have been claiming, which I have seen them complaining, is that with the increase in fuel the price of the ticket increases. Now it would be good for them to look for the governors”, he declared.
When contacted, the Petrobras press office said that, for the time being, the company will not comment, and has not confirmed or denied Bolsonaro’s statement.
pricing policy
In an interview with CNN last month, the president of Petrobras, Joaquim Silva e Luna, said he did not discuss pricing policy with president Jair Bolsonaro. “My relationship with President Bolsonaro is one of deep respect and consideration, and that is reciprocal. I don’t deal with the president about the price of fuel. We haven’t talked about this subject.”
In a presentation to the press in September to comment on fuel prices, Silva e Luna stated that there would be no change in the company’s fuel price policy. “I see it as an opportunity to show how Petrobras has participated in all of this. I start by saying that there is no change in Petrobras’ pricing policy. We continue to work the way we always work”, he said at the time.
In an interview with Reuters in October, Joaquim Silva e Luna reinforced that the risk is “zero” of a Petrobras act for hold you prices of fuels in the country in the middle of a period from high values that pressure the inflation and the budget of Brazilians, said the presidentfromcompany.
This means that if the prices of oil or the exchange rate to move to new structural highs, the Petrobras will have from readjust the prices from gasoline e diesel to keep your policy from follow the birthfrom with global quotes, despite from counter pressures from part of societyfrom, said the executive.
Silva e Luna has also stated that the state-owned company does not exercise a monopoly in the sector and that “it is not correct” to blame it for the successive increases in the amount charged for fuel. “Petrobras has not exercised a monopoly for 24 years. It competes freely with other market players”, he stated.
Still on Bolsonaro, he recently stated that Petrobras, “unfortunately”, is independent, and raised the possibility of privatizing the company. And, despite an official statement from the company having stated that there are no studies on the subject in the Ministry of Economy or the Ministry of Mines and Energy, reports from presidential assistants to the CNN Brasil, state that government technicians have carried out an informal analysis, at the request of the president, if he decides to present a proposal to the National Congress.
At the time of the news about a possible privatization of the company, Petrobras shares were among the biggest highs of the day on the B3, and ended the trading session with gains of more than 6%.
In early November, the stock market suffered another impact as a result of the president’s statement on fuel prices. Bolsonaro said that the state-owned company would announce, in 20 days, a new readjustment, causing the Ibovespa, the main B3 index, to register an increase of almost 4%.
ICMS
One of the measures to try to contain the rise in fuel prices was the freezing, for 90 days, of the value of the Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services (ICMS) levied on products. The measure was unanimously approved at an extraordinary meeting of the National Council for Finance Policy (Confaz). “The objective is to collaborate with the maintenance of prices at the values in effect on November 1, 2021 until January 31, 2022”, informed the Ministry of Economy.
Even after this decision, Petrobras’ Marketing and Logistics director, Cláudio Mastella, stated that the state-owned company was not considering freezing the price of fuel. According to him, the measure would generate a ‘discordance’ with the international market, which would cause harm to the company.
Escalating prices
Survey made by the Agency CNN shows that gasoline is 53% more expensive compared to November 2020. The rise in ethanol was even greater, at 74%.
*(Text published by Ana Carolina Nunes)
Reference: CNN Brasil
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