Relief in cooking gas prices expected within two weeks, experts say

The Brazilian consumer will begin to feel a small relief in the cost of the 13 kilo gas cylinder in one to two weeks. The improvement will represent from R$ 3 to R$ 6.50 in the consumer’s pocket in relation to what was being paid in recent months. The projection is by FGV economist Alberto Ajzental.

The professor of Economics at Unicamp, Pedro Rossi, reported that the impact on the end (consumer) is not very significant. “Depending on the local distribution – transport costs, middlemen etc. – the fall may not occur and serve only to increase profit margins. This depends on the market structure. The more competitive, the less capacity distributors have to increase the margin and the faster they pass the reduction to the price”.

Petrobras announced last Friday (8) a drop of 5.58% in the price of LPG for distributors. The company informed through a statement that the price of a 13-kilogram gas cylinder for distributors would fall from R$58.21 to R$54.94 – a drop of R$3.27.

Alberto Ajzental says that, in light of the announcement and converting it into reais, the price of a 13-kilogram gas cylinder for refineries will drop by an average of R$3.25. The new value began to take effect this Saturday (09). THE CNN made contact with some distributors and the cost was the same as in the weeks before the crash.

Relief does not happen immediately and the economist explains why. “Probably distributors will wait for new shipments to arrive at a lower value to eventually practice a lower value that, at the limit, would be R$ 6.50, but it will hardly reach that value. This practice is often not verified when the readjustment is upwards. When it gets more expensive, the distributor raises the value the next day”.

The union that represents gas distributors reported that cylinder prices are free at all links in the chain and susceptible to market variations.

Between the 3rd and 9th of April, a survey by the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) indicated that the value of a 13-kilogram cylinder cost an average of R$ 113.54 in the country.

Petrobras reported that the reduction in LPG prices is “consistent with its pricing policy” and follows the “evolution of international prices and the exchange rate, which have stabilized at a lower level for LPG”.

Readjustment in March

On March 11, Petrobras readjusted LPG for distributors by 16.1% and went from R$3.86 to R$4.48 per kg, equivalent to R$58.21 per 13kg. The product readjustment did not happen until then, 152 days ago. In some capitals, the price of the cylinder went from R$ 118 to R$ 130 from one day to the next.

*With information from Raquel Landim