Rising diesel prices cause government headache

From now on, Numbers of the Week will become Number of the Week, where we choose a single figure that helps understand what is going on in Brazil. This week’s number is the hike in diesel prices this year:

28 percent

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-controlled oil and gas company, announced another price increase in diesel and gasoline sold by refineries to fuel distributors. This is already the third time Petrobras has raised diesel prices this year, and the fourth increase for gasoline. Since January 1, diesel has gotten 28 percent more expensive — and gasoline prices have jumped 35 percent.

What is happening. Petrobras is a publicly-traded company in which the government has a...