LatinNews Daily - 10 May 2022

* Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, Petrobras, has announced a further hike in refinery gate diesel prices, in a move likely to intensify attacks on the company by President Jair Bolsonaro. Petrobras raised diesel prices by 8.9%, bringing them to R$4.91 (US$0.95) per litre. Petrobras said that the price hike - its first in 60 days, and the first under new CEO José Mauro Ferreira Coelho - was necessary in order to bring the company’s prices in line with international market rates. It warned that a failure to raise prices could lead to national shortages by eating into the profits of the private refiners and importers that provide around 30% of diesel in Brazil. Sergio Araujo, the president of the Brazilian association of fuel importers (Abicom), praised the decision, describing it as “a firm stance by Petrobras, ratifying the need to stick to market prices and its commitment to shareholders despite the political pressure from presidential candidates, including President Jair Bolsonaro.” Clearly concerned by the potential impact of rising fuel prices on his campaign to be reelected in October, Bolsonaro has called for Petrobras to lower its prices and on 5 May slammed the company for its “abusive” profits.

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