Gasoline drops another 9% with state tax cut

Gasoline prices fell another 8.9% this week in response to federal and state tax cuts passed by Congress. The price of diesel, less affected by the measures supported by President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), fell by just 0.4%.

According to the ANP (National Agency of Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels), the average price of gasoline at Brazilian stations was R$ 6.49 per liter this week. The value represents a drop of R$ 0.90 (or 12.1%) in two weeks, since taxes began to be cut.

It is still below the R$ 1.55 average drop expected by the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy). But the ICMS cut has not yet occurred in all states — some of them are fighting in the STF (Federal Supreme Court) to reverse the measure.

With the two successive weeks of decline, the average price of gasoline in the country returned to the level of October 2021. The MME’s expectation is that it will reach R$ 5.84 per liter.

This Thursday (7), Bolsonaro issued a decree that forces stations to disclose the prices they practiced before the approval of tax cuts by Congress, with the objective of forcing the sector to pass on the tax waiver to the consumer.

The ANP survey found more expensive gasoline in Crateús (CE), at R$ 8.52 per liter. The cheapest was found in Macapá (AP): R$ 5.22 per liter.

Also benefiting from tax cuts, the price of hydrous ethanol dropped 4.4% this week, to R$4.52 per liter, on the national average. The minimum price detected by the ANP survey was R$ 3.63, in Várzea Grande (MT).

According to the ANP, the liter of diesel was sold, on average, at R$ 7.52 in the country. The product was already exempt from federal taxes and suffered little impact from the ICMS cut, since most states already practiced rates lower than the established ceiling.

The recent drop in oil prices reduces the pressure on Petrobras by eliminating the gap between domestic prices and the estimated value to import the products, a concept known as import parity.

For two days this week, the average prices of gasoline and diesel in Brazilian refineries were higher than the international market, according to an estimate by Abicom (Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers).

This Friday (8), however, the situation was reversed: gasoline was R$ 0.15 below the international market. Already the liter of diesel is R$ 0.04 cheaper.