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On Wednesday (27/07), Petrobras announced the approval of a Price Formation Directive for the Internal Market. The measure seeks to protect the current pricing policy, which links the prices of fuels produced by the state-owned company to those practiced in the international market.
New Layer of Supervision, Board Still Responsible for Prices
The measure “incorporates an additional layer of supervision of the execution of pricing policies by the Board of Directors and Fiscal Council…”. The directive maintains the company’s board as responsible for the application of readjustments to the prices of fuels sold to distributors.
A Response to the Government
The directive was a reaction to the Federal Government’s attempts to change the company’s pricing policy. Until then, the pricing policy was defined by the Petrobras Presidency in agreement with the Commercialization and Financial departments. Due to the decision taken on Wednesday, from now on, the Board of Directors itself will also participate in the discussions on the definition of the policy. Thus, it will not be enough for Petrobras President Caio Paes de Andrade to change the board to change the pricing policy. Bolsonaro’s nominee will also have to submit the issue to the Board of Directors.
Consecutive Price Readjustments and Impact on Inflation
In recent months, successive readjustments have led to the downfall of the company’s presidents and the Mines and Energy Minister. The frequent readjustments in fuels have also had an impact on inflation in the last months, which has grown to the point of causing concern in the team of President Jair Bolsonaro.