Petrobras should reduce gasoline prices next week – 05/12/2023 – Market

Three days after leaking information about cuts in fuel prices by the government, the president of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, admitted this Friday (12) that the company should announce reductions next week.

The anticipation of readjustments by the Planalto Palace, well in advance, became the target of criticism among minorities and the fuel sector, which already feel the impacts of the reduction in requests for renewal of stocks waiting for lower prices.

In an interview this Friday, Prates said he will bring news on pricing policy next week. “There is a chance that, when dealing with this matter next week, we will evaluate the [preços dos] fuels,” he added.

However, he did not provide dates or details about what will be disclosed in relation to the pricing policy, claiming that he does not want to “spoiler”.

Any cut in prices responds to the reduction in international oil prices. According to data from importers, gasoline sold by the state-owned company is now R$ 0.39 per liter above the import parity. Diesel is R$ 0.28 more expensive.

The first news about price cuts appeared on Wednesday (10), after a meeting between Prates and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). The next day, parliamentarians, aligned influencers and even a minister flooded social media with information on the topic.

They celebrated that the price of gasoline will be reduced by R$ 0.30 per liter, that of diesel, by R$ 0.10 per liter, and that of cooking gas, by R$ 15 per 13-kilogram cylinder. A montage with Lula’s face, saying that the government announced a cut in the price of cooking gas began to circulate.

“Great news: kitchen gas cylinders will be R$ 15 cheaper from next week!”

“Good news! The government has just announced a reduction in the price of cooking gas cylinders. Gas will be R$ 15 cheaper starting next week! Do the L!”, echoed Senator Humberto Costa (PT-PE ), citing the minister as a source.

The anticipation of cuts goes against Petrobras’ disclosure strategy, which usually announces readjustments in notices to the market, effective the following day. For this reason, it became the target of criticism both among the company’s minority shareholders and in the fuel sector.

Disclosure in press releases aims to ensure equal access to information that may influence the performance of the company’s shares. It is made on the eve of the readjustments to try to minimize impacts on the fuel market.

Executive of a large distributor heard by Sheet says, for example, that orders for purchases of products by the posts usually grow before increases in prices, in a movement known as “pre-high”.

In the current case, companies have already felt a reduction in the volume of orders, with gas stations waiting for the new lower prices, even without details on when the readjustments will take place or official confirmation of the values.

Also on Tuesday night, Petrobras was forced to send a statement to the CVM (Securities and Exchange Commission) denying the decision on the readjustments.

“Petrobras, in relation to the news published in the media, clarifies that product price adjustments are carried out in the normal course of its business, due to the continuous monitoring of the markets”, says the text.

Questioned about the anticipation of information to the government, Prates denied the Sheet that the state-owned company has anticipated the readjustments to the government and said that the meetings with the government discuss issues related to the national fuel market.

“It is natural for Petrobras, a company whose controlling shareholder is the government, to engage in this dialogue. Hence, anticipating prices, government people, politicians, influencers and such predicting how much this or that fuel will drop, is up to anyone” , stated

“The official announcement is made by Petrobras on the due day and at the due time, even in advance of the opening of the financial market. We are not breaking this rule and everything that comes out of guessing prices, how much will go down and how much will not, is pure people’s speculation.”