October 4, 2024

Gasoline has never been so expensive in Brazil, but why? Understand what makes the price go up

6 min read

São Paulo – Filling the tank has never been so expensive. The average price of a liter of regular gasoline in Brazil was R$5,955 last week, according to a survey by the National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) between 15 and 21, but it can be found above R$7 at service stations in Acre, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul. The average value in August, 5.90 BRL, is the highest in the past 20 years in nominal terms. Since the beginning of 2021, fuel has increased by approximately 28%.

One of the main reasons is the price of oil in the international market. A barrel of Brent – which is traded in London and used by Petrobras to calculate the price – is up nearly 40% since the start of the year, putting pressure on fossil fuel prices overall.

Petrobras, which supplies distributors, calculates the price at refineries based on the price of oil and the exchange rate, since the commodity is priced in dollars. In this sense, the appreciation of the US currency, which accumulated at 1.55% in 2021, also forced gasoline to rise. The state-owned company has raised the price of fuel nine times this year alone.

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