Petrobras increases the price of gasoline by 18.8% and cooking gas by 16.1%; diesel rises 24.9%

Pressured by the advance of oil prices with the war between Russia and Ukraine, Petrobras announced this Thursday (10) readjustments in the prices of gasoline, diesel and cooking gas. The increases come into effect this Friday (11).

In the case of gasoline, the adjustment for distributors is 18.8%. The average price at the state-owned refineries will go from R$3.25 to R$3.86 per liter. For diesel, the increase is even greater, at 24.9%. The value will rise by almost R$ 1 per liter, from R$ 3.61 to R$ 4.51.

According to the CBIE (Brazilian Infrastructure Center), they were the biggest readjustments at least since the beginning of the current pricing policy, in 2016. With the increases announced this Thursday, the price of gasoline sold by Petrobras has risen by 24.5% in 2022. The price of diesel sold by the state-owned company rose 35%.

Considering that the gasoline sold by Petrobras represents 73% of the mixture sold at gas stations — the rest is anhydrous ethanol — the readjustment at the refineries will have an impact of R$ 0.44 per liter, raising the national average price to around R$ 7 per liter. first time in history.

The average price of diesel, considering that all other installments remain unchanged, would reach a value around R$ 6.40 per liter.

Cooking gas, known as LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), will have its first adjustment after 152 days. The average sale price for distributors will go from R$3.86 to R$4.48 per kilo, an adjustment of 16.1%.

The final average price of the 13-kilogram cylinder, most used in homes, has remained stable at around R$102 in recent weeks. With the adjustment by Petrobras, it could rise to around R$ 110, if all other components remain at the same current level.

The readjustments were announced in the midst of a debate in the government and in Congress about the state-owned fuel price policy, which provides for the monitoring of international oil prices. This week, the change of model gained support from President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) himself.

After the announcement of the readjustments, the Senate approved two texts that deal with fuels, whose voting had been postponed. One of them creates a stabilization account to cushion readjustments and establishes guidelines for a new national pricing policy. The text now needs House approval.

Also on Thursday, the Senate approved the text of the bill that amends the collection of ICMS (Tax on Circulation of Goods and Services) on fuels. A highlight will still be voted on, which can zero PIS/Cofins rates on diesel and gas until the end of 2022, the election year.

In a note, Petrobras stated that the announcement “goes in the same direction as other fuel suppliers in Brazil that have already promoted adjustments in their sales prices”. The first large private refinery in the country, the Mataripe Refinery, in Bahia, had adjusted its prices on Saturday (5).

The announcement stirred the quotations of Petrobras shares, which started this Thursday on a high.

Despite the escalation of international oil prices after the start of the conflict in Eastern Europe, Petrobras remained 57 days without changing the prices of gasoline and diesel – the last adjustments were made on January 12th.

According to the latest estimates released by Abicom (Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers), the readjustments announced this Thursday would still be insufficient to cover the entire gap, which on Wednesday night (9) reached R$ 0.81 for gasoline and R$ 1.17 on diesel.

The high lag made private imports unfeasible, generating market alerts about the risk of product shortages. This week, distributors and service stations began to report difficulties in renewing inventories, especially diesel.

The president of Abicom, Sérgio Araújo, says that even with the reduction of the lag, new imports take time to arrive in the country, since between the decision to buy products and the arrival of the ships it is necessary a period between 30 and 45 days.

“The risk of shortages continues. We don’t know how to quantify it, because we don’t have information about the stock, but it continues,” he said.

The cooking gas sector, in turn, fears that the high prices will impact sales of the product, which was already being replaced by firewood among lower-income families, which justified the creation of a subsidy for this segment of the population.

“It has never been so important to improve the Auxílio Gás program, ensuring that resources destined for the purchase of LPG are not diverted as they are currently”, defended the president of Sindigás (Union of LPG Distributors), Sérgio Bandeira de Mello.

After government statements about price control, Petrobras shares plummeted on the stock market this Monday (7th). In Brasilia, high-ranking members spent the week discussing alternatives to contain the rise, but they still haven’t managed to reach a consensus.

In a note released this Thursday, Petrobras said that, despite the rise in oil and oil prices, it “decided not to pass on the market volatility immediately, carrying out a daily monitoring of oil prices”.