Average price of gasoline and S10 diesel at pumps rises 0.35% and 0.16% in the week

The average price of gasoline and S10 diesel at gas stations in the country increased slightly in the week between January 7th and 13th, reported the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).

Gasoline sold to the end consumer saw the price per liter rise 0.35%, to R$5.58 on the national average. In the previous seven days, this price was R$5.56.

The rise in gasoline reverses a sequence of five weeks of consecutive falls, which had followed a one-off increase at the turn of November to December.

At the end of August 2023, gasoline rose by R$0.23 per liter in one week, reaching R$5.88 due to an increase by Petrobras (16.3%) in the price charged at refineries in 16 of August. Since then, the fuel sold at gas stations has shown a gradual but consistent downward trend in prices linked to competitive adjustments, declines in Petrobras prices and drops in the prices of anhydrous ethanol.

Anhydrous ethanol, which accounts for 27.5% of the regular gasoline mixture sold at gas stations, has helped to anchor the price of gasoline. According to the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics at the University of São Paulo's School of Agriculture (Cepea/Esalq-USP), the average price of the input in São Paulo's plants has fallen by 18.2% since October 6th.

In the last week calculated, between the 8th and 12th of January, the input was 3.32% cheaper, reaching R$ 2.05 per liter in the week and preventing a greater increase in the average price of gasoline in the seven days until this Saturday.

Diesel S10

The average price of S10 diesel at the pumps in the same period rose 0.16%, to R$5.98. In the previous seven days, the price of fuel was R$5.97 on the national average, according to ANP data.

This is the second week in a row of an increase in the price of diesel, after eight consecutive weeks of decline. In the previous week, since January 1st, the full PIS/Cofins charge became valid. The tax had been zero since 2021 and the federal government brought forward part of the collection's return to September 2023. From January 1st, the collection returned to full: R$0.35 per liter of diesel.

The return of the tax reversed part of the declines linked to the reduction in the price of the product sold by Petrobras to distributors in its refineries from December 27th (-7.9% or R$0.30 per liter). Petrobras' adjustments are passed on by retailers to the end consumer. In general, there is an initial impact and then a residual effect linked to the dynamics of dealer inventories, as is clear this week.

LPG

The ANP also reported that the price of a 13-kilogram cylinder of cooking gas, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), rose this week. The average price of the product in the country rose 0.16%, to R$100.93. In the previous seven days, this price had been R$100.77.