The rise in oil has increased the lag in domestic fuel prices in Brazil, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers (Abicom), increasing pressure for Petrobras readjustments to maintain parity with import prices (PPI), a policy adopted by the state-owned company since 2016.
On Tuesday (5), average gasoline prices were 9% below the international market and diesel 8% cheaper, which would give Petrobras scope to grant increases of R$0.31 and R$0.43 per liter. refineries, respectively, to return to par.
In the Bahia market, served by the Mataripe Refinery, a private unit controlled by Acelen, the lag for diesel oil reaches 10%, while gasoline with the greatest price difference with the foreign market was observed in the port of Araucária, Paraná, from 12 %.
According to Abicom, all markets are unfavorable for imports of both fuels.
In Brazil, according to the Brazilian Oil and Gas Institute (IBP), the risk of a diesel deficit — whose demand increases in the second half of the year in the country, due to the agricultural harvest — rose from 32 million liters in early September. to 115 million liters in a bulletin published this week.
The entity informs, however, that this deficit must be covered by inventories from producers and distributors.
Despite the moment being favorable to price increases in the domestic market, Petrobras is being pressured by the government to maintain prices until the second round of elections.
Specialists believe that the exchange rate can help the state-owned company to maintain current prices, if it does not rise too much, but if the barrel exceeds US$ 100 it will be very difficult to justify the lack of transfer to the consumer.
This Thursday (6), Brent oil, used as a reference by Petrobras, rose 0.29%, quoted at US$ 93.64 a barrel for December contracts.
This Tuesday, the dollar in sight closed with a high of 0.31%, at R$ 5.1840.
The November dollar futures ended the session with a gain of 0.33%, at R$5.2240.
Source: CNN Brasil
Joe Jameson, a technology journalist with over 2 years of experience, writes for top online news websites. Specializing in the field of technology, Joe provides insights into the latest advancements in the industry. Currently, he contributes to covering the world stock market.
