Brazil Hikes Gas 10%, a First in Three Years

Brazilian gas station Brazil's Finance Minister, Guido Mantega, has just announced a 10% hike in the price of gasoline and 15% for diesel fuel, the first such increase since 2005. The increases refer to products from Petrobras, the country's government-controlled oil multinational, which sets the pace for the rest of the industry.

However, according to the government the new prices should not have a major effect on consumers' pockets since they will be compensated by a tax reduction ranging between 0.28 Brazilian real (17 US cents) to 0.18 teal (11 cents) per liter of gasoline. For diesel fuel the same tax will drop from 0.07 Real (4 US cents) to 0.03 Real (2 US cents) per liter.

Nevertheless at the end of the day diesel fuel price will rise 8.8%, which will have an impact of 0.015 percentage points on the inflation rate, according to Mantega.

A liter of gasoline currently costs in Brazil at the pump approximately 2.60 Real (US$ 1.56), and diesel, 1.90 Real (US$ 1.14).

The price hike announcement was anticipated on Wednesday during a press conference on the investment grade granted to Brazil by the risk rating firm Standard & Poor's. The Brazilian government had postponed price rises several times, fearing their impact on the country's inflation.

When Petrobras implemented the previous rise on its gasoline prices, the international oil price was US$ 65 a barrel. The oil barrel is now about US$ 112.

Gas prices around the world according to air-inc.com:

Nation   City  Price in USD Regular/Gallon
Netherlands  Amsterdam  $6.48
Norway   Oslo   $6.27
Italy   Milan   $5.96
Denmark  Copenhagen  $5.93
Belgium  Brussels  $5.91
Sweden   Stockholm  $5.80
United Kingdom  London   $5.79
Germany  Frankfurt  $5.57
France   Paris   $5.54
Portugal  Lisbon   $5.35
Hungary  Budapest  $4.94
Luxembourg    $4.82
Croatia  Zagreb   $4.81
Ireland  Dublin   $4.78
Switzerland  Geneva   $4.74
Spain   Madrid   $4.55
Japan   Tokyo   $4.24
Czech Republic  Prague   $4.19
Romania  Bucharest  $4.09
Andorra    $4.08
Estonia  Tallinn  $3.62
Bulgaria  Sofia   $3.52
United States   $3.45
Brazil   Brasí­lia  $3.12
Cuba   Havana   $3.03
Taiwan   Taipei   $2.84
Lebanon  Beirut   $2.63
South Africa  Johannesburg  $2.62
Nicaragua  Managua  $2.61
Panama   Panama City  $2.19
Russia   Moscow   $2.10
Puerto Rico  San Juan  $1.74
Saudi Arabia  Riyadh   $0.91
Kuwait   Kuwait City  $0.78
Egypt   Cairo   $0.65
Nigeria  Lagos   $0.38
Venezuela  Caracas  $0.12

Mercopress

Tags:

You May Also Like

Open Letter to President Lula

You will not be able to accuse or avoid responsibility. Who are you going ...

Ilhabela, Brazil’s Treasure Island, Gets Spruced Up for the World Cup

Ilhabela, an island off the coast of São Paulo state, 217 kilometers away from ...

Geraldo Azevedo, a life with music

In a career spanning three decades, 19 records and partnerships with the biggest names ...

US Transportation Safety Board Releases Report on Brazilian Air Tragedy

Washington-based National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), in response to a Brazilian government request, has ...

Waging Peace – The View from Brazil

Just as the "ordinary citizen" of Iraq cannot be generalized as a clone of ...

Exports to Arabs Booming in Brazil. Sales Grow 40% in 2008

Brazilian exports to the Arab countries generated almost US$ 9 billion from January to ...

In Washington for Summit Lula Once Again Comes in Defense of Iran

Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, along with 43 other world leaders and ...

Brazil to Tax Savings Accounts Amid Talks of 1% Shrinking of the GDP

The Brazilian government intends to begin taxing interest on some savings accounts and may ...

In US and Europe Brazil Is Overwhelming Favorite to Win the World Cup

The results of an online survey conducted among a multi-country sample to gauge which ...

August 1995 Cover Story

Brazilian teenagers and Brazil’s generation X are not different from their counterpart in the ...