The price of gasoline dropped 1.2% at Brazilian service stations last week and was back below R$5 per liter, according to the ANP (National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels). It was the second week of decline after a spike earlier in the year.
Last week, gasoline was sold in the country for an average price of R$ 4.98 per liter, down R$ 0.06 compared to the previous week. It is the first time in the year that the product is sold below BRL 5 – it reached BRL 5.12 per liter in the first week of 2023.
The ANP also identified reductions in the prices of diesel and ethanol. The first fell 0.6%, to R$ 6.32 per liter. The second, 2.3%, to R$ 3.85 per liter. At the beginning of the year, the average price of ethanol surpassed R$4.
After taking office on January 1, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) signed an MP (provisional measure) that extended the exemption of federal taxes on fuel.
The decision sought to prevent inflationary pressure right at the beginning of the new term, but was unable to prevent price increases at the beginning of the year, which generated complaints from drivers.
The increase was attributed by the government to gas station owners who tried to disturb the economic environment after Lula’s inauguration.
Cade (Administrative Council for Economic Defense) opened an investigation into the price increase in early 2023. The secretary of Senacon (National Consumer Secretariat), Wadih Damous, said that he sent notification to posts that practiced readjustments at the time.
But there was also an impact from the unfreezing of reference prices for the calculation of ICMS (state tax), which raised prices in some states, mainly for diesel and ethanol.
The retreat at the pumps is seen as an accommodation of prices after the increases, since Petrobras has not changed the values of refinery products for 48 days. There was also a reduction in the ICMS reference price in some states.
According to the ANP, the price of cooking gas was practically stable in the week, at R$ 108.05 per 13-kilogram cylinder, 0.2% lower than that registered in the previous week.
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