Today, how Petrobras tries to erase fears of political meddling. The start of Brazil’s vaccination campaigns across the country. And the country’s economic performance.
Timely price bump helps Petrobras erase fears of interference
Brazil’s giant state-controlled oil and gas company Petrobras announced on Monday that it will raise gasoline prices at refineries by nearly 8 percent (or USD 0.028 per liter) to keep up with the international oil market. Since Petrobras’ last change on December 29, Brent prices have risen by around 7.5 percent and the Brazilian Real lost 1.5 percent of value against the U.S. Dollar.
- The move comes as Petrobras’ pricing policy is challenged by oil importers, who accused the company of keeping them artificially low in what it described as “predatory” behavior. According to these importers’ calculations, gasoline prices were USD 0.074 below international levels, and diesel prices were USD 0.064 lower.
Why it matters. By raising fuel prices, Petrobras hopes to dispel rumors that the federal government is meddling in the company for political reasons.
- Petrobras still runs the fuels market almost single-handedly — and the fact that it is a state-controlled company makes fuel prices a political issue. In past administrations, the firm froze...