Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro criticized stiff price hikes for gasoline and diesel by state-controlled oil company Petrobras on Saturday, saying the firm had reported an 'absurd' amount of profit.
A worker uses a petrol pump at a Brazilian oil company Petrobras gas station in Brasilia, Brazil March 7, 2022. REUTERS/Adriano MachadoBRASILIA, March 12 - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro criticized stiff price hikes for gasoline and diesel by state-controlled oil company Petrobras on Saturday, saying the firm had reported an "absurd" amount of profit.
Petrobras on Thursday said it was raising gasoline prices at the refinery gate by 18.8% and diesel prices by 24.9% as world oil prices soar due to the war in Ukraine, causing lines at gas stations by Brazilians hurrying to fill up.Worried about the impact of fuel prices on inflation and his chances of re-election in October, Bolsonaro on Friday promptly signed into law a bill aimed at curbing fuel price hikes by simplifying the way the ICMS state tax is collected.
"It is an absurd profit that Petrobras has at an atypical moment in the world," Bolsonaro told reporters on Saturday, adding: "I am not satisfied with the price readjustment, but I will not interfere in the market." Asked on Saturday about the possibility of establishing a subsidy for fuel prices, Bolsonaro said that was up to Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, who has opposed subsidizing fuel due to the fiscal cost.