Diesel sales in Brazil advance 2% in January, while gasoline and ethanol fall

Diesel sales by distributors in Brazil rose 2.2% in January compared to the same month last year, while Otto cycle fuels (gasoline and ethanol) dropped 12.7%, according to data from the ANP (Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gas Natural and Biofuels) this Monday (21).

The volume of diesel sold, the most traded fuel in the country, totaled 4.62 billion liters, despite high prices, in the wake of gains in oil and the dollar against the real.

The sales volume of gasoline and ethanol totaled 4.27 billion liters.

In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs pointed out that the drop in volumes of Otto cycle fuels was due to a sharp decline in sales of ethanol, which remains more expensive than gasoline, and greater mobility restrictions as a result of the increase in Covid cases. -19.

Gasoline sales grew 2.5% in January from a year earlier, to 3.26 billion litres.

Already hydrated ethanol, its direct competitor in sales, retreated more than 41%, to about 1 billion liters, in the same comparison.

Sales of fuel oil, in turn, fell 45% in January from a year earlier, to 158 million liters, due to a drop in demand from thermoelectric plants in the face of heavy rains that contributed to the recovery of levels in hydroelectric reservoirs, said Goldman.