Fuel prices will be a central theme in 2022, says specialist

Fuels became more expensive in December, according to a survey by Ticket Log. When comparing the last month of 2021 with the same period in 2020, the company registered high of 40%. The rise reflects changes that occurred throughout 2021, with the first increase still in January.

CBIE Advisory partner and director Bruno Pascon, in an interview to CNN this Friday (31), he stated that the theme of fuel prices will be central to 2022, an election year, due to the strong impact they have on the lives of Brazilians.

“This will be a central theme because fuels represent between 16% and 20% of Brazilian income. As income fell 11% in 2021, due to the pandemic and the crisis, I believe this topic will gain prominence next year,” he said.

According to Pascon, the domestic price of fuel in Brazil will continue under pressure in 2022, but it should not be in the same magnitude as happened this year.

“Unfortunately we will have two pressures for next year. The first is on the price of oil, estimated to be between 75 and 80 dollars a barrel in 2022, above the average of 72 dollars in 2021, and on the exchange rate, which tends to have greater volatility in an election year.” stated.

“Therefore, the two main components that impact the domestic price of fuel in Brazil will continue under pressure next year,” he added.

For him, the solution to this pressure should not involve a policy of price interference, with changes at Petrobras.

“I believe that we are able to coexist with public policies to provide better prices for the population, but we cannot touch Petrobras’ pricing policy,” he said.

“As a company listed on the stock exchange, with respect for the law of state-owned companies, it may even suffer sanctions if this price freedom is questioned, which does not happen in any other country in the world,” he explained.