Economy

How the hike in oil prices affects Brazil

oil prices brazil
Oil prices have gone up 15 times in May alone. Photo: ABr
oil prices brazil
Oil prices have gone up 15 times in May alone. Photo: ABr

On Monday, truck drivers blocked dozens of roads across 19 Brazilian states. They were protesting the latest rise in diesel prices. Since July 2017, diesel users have been grappling with a 21-percent price hike – but they are hardly the only ones with such an experience. In May alone, fuel prices have risen 12 times. Despite the protests, fuel prices are set to increase yet again – and gas distributing companies will pay BRL 2.37 per liter today, as opposed to BRL 2.34 yesterday.

These continual price hikes are a consequence of a new pricing policy set by Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil and gas company, midway through last year. To break with the company’s strategy of controlling prices in order to curb inflation rates, an approach adopted during the Dilma Rousseff era, Petrobras started to change its prices daily, following international oil prices.

One year ago,

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