Gasoline rises for the second week and already reaches R$ 8.77 in Bahia

Still without the impact of the mega-increases announced this Thursday (10), the price of gasoline rose for the second week in a row in the country, according to a weekly survey by the ANP (National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels).

This week, the liter of fuel was sold by Brazilian gas stations at an average price of R$6,683, up 1.6% over the previous week. Data collection, however, is carried out on the first days of the week — therefore, before the 18.8% readjustment at Petrobras refineries.

After the readjustment, there were reports of stations already anticipating the high across the country. Drivers rushed to gas stations to try to buy at the old price and queues were seen at gas stations in Argentina, where fuel is cheaper.

Assuming that all other price components remain unchanged, the expectation is that the pass-through of the Petrobras adjustment will bring the average price of gasoline in the country to around R$7 per liter.

Fueled by the first large private refinery in the country, Bahia suffered the impacts of the escalation of international oil prices after the beginning of the war in Ukraine. The Mataripe Refinery, controlled by the Arab fund Mubadala, decided to pass on the increase on the 5th.

Thus, the stations in Bahia had the week to pass on the high: according to the ANP, the average price of gasoline in the state rose 9.9%, to R$ 7,691 per liter. In Eunápolis, 530 kilometers from Salvador, the agency’s research found the fuel at R$8.77 per liter.​

Although Petrobras’ adjustments came into effect only this Friday (11), the ANP detected an increase in gasoline prices in all Brazilian regions during the week. Pulled by Bahia, the Northeast region had the highest increase, 4.3%.

In the Southeast region, the average increase was 0.3%. In the North, the average price of gasoline rose 1%. In the South and Central West, the increases were 1.1% and 1.7%, respectively.

According to the agency, the price of diesel also rose in the week, reaching R$5,814 per liter, up 3.7%. On Thursday, Petrobras announced a 24.9% readjustment in the value of fuel sales at its refineries. With the transfer of the adjustment, the average price of the product should be close to R$ 6.50 per liter.

The price of cooking gas, which was also readjusted on Thursday, by 16.1%, has not yet been impacted, closing the week, on average, at R$102.42 per 13-kilogram cylinder, at the same level as last week.

The price of hydrous ethanol rose 6%, to an average of R$ 4.646 per liter, following a rise in the price of the product at the mills. According to Cepea (Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics) at Esalq/USP), ethanol sold in São Paulo rose 8.2% in the week.

Petrobras’ adjustments provoked a reaction among consumers, in the political world and in the government itself, which managed to approve in Congress a change in the ICMS collection model on fuel, one of the main banners of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) for the sector.

Petrobras even held off gasoline and diesel prices for 57 days, but gave in to the pressure of rising international prices after the start of the Ukrainian war, at the risk of its executives being held accountable for causing financial losses to the company.

In the market, there was fear of shortages due to the impossibility of private imports before the readjustments, since the sale of more expensive products purchased abroad at national prices would bring losses.

This Friday, the MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy) announced the creation of a working group to monitor supply conditions. The objective is to monitor the market and suggest measures to ensure that service stations do not run out of products.

Specialists in the sector believe that the adjustments help to make imports viable, but there are still risks of occasional problems, given that a decision to bring products now would only guarantee the arrival of ships in 45 to 60 days.