The average price of gasoline at Brazilian gas stations maintained its downward trend this week, according to a survey by the ANP (National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels) released this Friday (8). It was the third fall in a row, after the surge caused by the mega-increase in Petrobras.
The reduction was small, from just R$0.01 (or 0.13%), to R$7,192 per liter. Since reaching a peak of R$ 7,267 per liter, the week after the adjustment, the average price of fuel has dropped 1% at the pumps. The movement can be explained by the competition between the stations for customers.
The freezing of ICMS by the states also helped to maintain prices in recent weeks, as the transfer of the high pumps to the tax ended up generating new increases in final prices. Gasoline ICMS has been frozen since November.
At the end of March, amid discussions about changing the formula for calculating the ICMS on diesel, state governments decided to extend the gas tax freeze until the end of June. Thus, the reference value for the charge does not change every 15 days, as it normally does.
According to the ANP survey, the average price of hydrated ethanol once again surpassed the barrier of R$ 5 per liter this week, reaching R$ 5,014. The rise in biofuel leaves the driver with no option when it comes to filling the tank in most parts of the country.
According to ANP data, ethanol is currently competitive with gasoline in only five states. The mill owners claim that there has been great demand in recent months, putting pressure on the price. The expectation is that the values ​​begin to fall in the next few weeks, with the beginning of the sugarcane harvest.
The price of diesel oil was practically stable this week, at R$ 6,600 per liter, less than R$ 0.01 above the previous week.
The same occurred with the price of gas cylinders, which fell by R$0.10, or 0.07%, to R$113.54. This Friday, Petrobras announced a 5.5% cut in the sale price of fuel at its refineries. The drop is small, of R$ 3.27 per 13 kilo cylinder and will only be felt from next week.
The price of CNG (vehicular natural gas) rose 0.6% in the week, to R$ 4,765 per cubic meter.
The transfers of the mega-increase in fuel prices in March were the main factors responsible for the rise in inflation in the month, when the IPCA had its highest rise for the period since 1994, before the implementation of the real plan.
I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
