Cut in the price of diesel takes a long time to reach the pumps – 12/15/2023 – Market

The price of S-10 diesel fell by R$0.07 per liter at Brazilian gas stations in the first week after the cut promoted by Petrobras in its refineries. It was the sixth consecutive week of decline, also helped by the new invasion of Russian diesel on the market.

According to the ANP (National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels), a liter of S-10 diesel was sold, on average, for R$ 6.06 this week. It is the lowest value since August, when Petrobras made the last positive adjustment to its refineries.

The transfer is much lower than the R$0.24 per liter estimated by Petrobras when it announced the R$0.27 per liter cut. The state-owned company itself, however, recognizes that the market is free and that the final price depends on the behavior of other components.

Since the beginning of the current downward cycle, the price of diesel has fallen by R$0.20 per liter at the pumps. The movement reflects the increase in Russian imports, after a period of restrictions. In November, Russia accounted for 62% of the total diesel imported by the country, according to StoneX.

At the beginning of the year, the government once again charges federal taxes on the product, with an impact of R$0.35 per liter. Petrobras, however, still has room for further cuts, as international oil prices have been hovering around US$75 per barrel.

At the opening of the market this Friday (15), the diesel sold by the state-owned refineries was R$0.12 per liter above the import parity measured by Abicom (Brazilian Association of Fuel Importers).

In the case of gasoline, the difference was R$0.04 per liter. In its new pricing policy, Petrobras says it will not exclusively follow import parity, but will not fail to monitor international prices.

At the pumps, gasoline cost, on average, R$5.61 this week, practically stable compared to the previous week. Without changes to Petrobras’ refineries, the price of the product has been fluctuating close to this level since the beginning of November.

According to the ANP, hydrated ethanol was sold at R$3.54 per liter this week. This product has also been in decline for weeks, with an accumulated drop of R$0.06 per liter in one month.