Brazil’s Petrobras raises fuel prices

• Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil company, announced Friday that it is raising fuel prices.
• President Jair Bolsonaro reacted angrily saying Petrobras “could sink Brazil in chaos”.
• Brazil has already seen fuel prices surge by over 33 percent in the past year.

Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil company, announced Friday that it is raising fuel prices, infuriating President Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing an inflationary spike as well as a re-election bid in October.

Price increases, particularly for food and fuel, have emerged as a major weakness for the far-right incumbent.

Petrobras, Latin America’s largest company, announced a 5.18 percent increase in gasoline prices and a 14.26 percent increase in diesel prices beginning Saturday.

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It blamed “a challenging scenario in Brazil and the world,” the latter a reference to the war in Ukraine, which has triggered higher oil prices around the world.

Brazil has already seen fuel prices surge by over 33 percent in the past year, according to official figures — with the last spike in gasoline and diesel rates coming three months ago.

Bolsonaro reacted angrily saying Petrobras “could sink Brazil in chaos.”

In May, Bolsonaro dismissed the president of Petrobras, who had been in the job for just 40 days, with the country’s energy ministry saying “Brazil is currently experiencing a challenging moment.”

As in many countries of the world, prices are soaring in Brazil. Inflation stands at 11.73 percent, far above the central bank’s target of 3.5 percent.

The bank raised its benchmark interest rate for the 11th straight time on Wednesday as it battles inflation.

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Bolsonaro is up against leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010), who leads opinion polls and is remembered for presiding over a thriving economy.

That is in stark contrast to today, when Brazil’s economy is still recovering from the pandemic and is grappling with the inflationary pressures unleashed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.