Gasoline price rises at stations, Chinese GDP postponed and what matters in the market

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Gasoline goes up again

After 15 weeks of decline, the price of gasoline rose again at Brazilian stations, according to the ANP’s weekly price survey.

In numbers: the fuel was sold on average at R$ 4.86 per liter, a high of 1.4% compared to the previous week.

• Controlled by the Arab Mubadala fund, the refinery follows closely the variations in oil prices.

Petrobraswhich controls the other refineries in the country, has not changed prices for over a month.

Oil prices jumped at the beginning of the month, after OPEC+ decided to cut the pace of production by two million barrels a day. In recent days, however, they have cooled, reflecting fears of a global recession.

lag: on Monday, the average price of gasoline in Brazilian refineries was 8%or R$ 0.30 per liter, below the import parity, a concept used by Petrobras that simulates the cost of bringing fuel to the country.

• In the case of diesel, the lag was 12%, or R$ 0.70 per liter. The data are from Abicom (importers association).

Barsi in CVM’s sights

One of the main individual investors in the Brazilian stock exchange, Luiz Barsi Filho is under investigation by the CVM (Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission).

The billionaire says the operations were lawful.

Understand: the investigation opened by the market sheriff wants to investigate a possible use of privileged information in trading Unipar shares on the stock exchange before the disclosure of a material fact on June 2, 2021.

• At the time, the company said it had entered into a confidentiality agreement for a possible transaction with Compass Minerals. In reaction to the statement, Unipar shares rose 5.7%.

barsiknown for its strategy of avoiding the sale of shares and valuing companies that distribute dividends, is one of Unipar’s main shareholders, with around 14% of voting papers.

• He is also the vice-chairman of the company’s board of directors.

Other side: in a note, the mega-investor said that he has been a shareholder of Unipar for over 10 years and that he does not act in a speculative manner in the market.

• Also according to Barsi, the procedure underway at the CVM is an investigation, “of which I am fully convinced that nothing wrong has been done.”

More on financial markets:

The hobbyhorse on the UK government’s economic agenda and the start of the US balance sheet crop generated optimism in stock markets around the world on Monday, after a sour week.

Natura begins to ‘deflate’

Natura&Co announced to the market this Monday that its board of directors is studying a possible IPO (initial offering of shares) or spin-off of Aesop, an Australian brand of premium skin and hair products.

the strategy follows the line prioritized by Fábio Barbosa, ex-Santander, who assumed the presidency of Natura in June with the promise of giving more autonomy to the group’s brands.

• In the view of consultants and market analysts, the company became too big after acquisitions.

• Aesop was the first major brand to come under the Natura umbrella, in 2013. In 2017, the company acquired the British The Body Shop, and in 2019, the American Avon.

Up and down: Stocks have been on a roller coaster in reaction to news involving a restructuring of the conglomerate’s units. The separation of Aesop and sale of The Body Shop were cited.

• Last month, Natura had denied the moves, which made its shares plummeted 10% in just one day.

China and Xi delay GDP release

In a very unusual decision, China postponed the release of several economic indicators expected for this week, including the third quarter GDP data, which would be announced on Tuesday (18).

The news comes during the week-long Communist Party congress, which is expected to secure a third term for Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

In numbers: the expectation of analysts consulted by Reuters is that the Chinese GDP grew 3.4% in the third quarter in the annual comparison.

• It would be an advance from the disappointing 0.4% rise recorded in the previous quarter, greatly affected by the country’s anti-Covid measures – which still exist, but are more relaxed.

The expected acceleration of the Chinese economy from July to September is also the result of government incentive policies, which, among other measures, are trying to revive the country’s real estate sector, one of the main sources of GDP.

Analysis: Xi Jinping’s third term at the helm of the Asian giant should have more obstacles than the previous ones, writes Rodrigo Zeidan, columnist for Sheetprofessor at New York University Shanghai and Fundação Dom Cabral.