R$ 7.20 per liter. That is the new average price of regular diesel in Brazil, after a 6.67% jump in the first half of October, according to the Edenred Ticket Log Price Index (IPTL), a survey based on fueling transactions at around 21,000 accredited gas stations, released on Tuesday (20). For ordinary Brazilians, it means pricier freight on everything that reaches the table, since diesel powers the trucks that supply supermarkets, factories and farms.
Since January, diesel has climbed 15.2%. Back then a liter cost R$ 6.25, and filling a 400-liter tank, typical of a cargo truck, cost R$ 2,500. Today the same tank costs R$ 2,880, or R$ 380 more.
Even after the spike, prices remain below the year's peak, hit in April at R$ 7.46. S-10 diesel, a lower-sulfur grade used in newer vehicles, rose 5.07% and also reached R$ 7.46 per liter.
Why diesel got so expensive
Brazil produces oil but does not refine all the diesel it consumes. Imports accounted for 23.14% of diesel A sales in August, according to the National Petroleum Agency (ANP). That leaves pump prices exposed to international swings and to shipping costs.
The external backdrop worsened with the escalation of conflicts in the Middle East. On Tuesday, Brent crude, the international benchmark, climbed back above US$ 111 a barrel, the highest level in five months.
To cushion the pass-through, the federal government last week raised its subsidy on imported diesel from R$ 2.12 to R$ 3.52 per liter, initially for 30 days. The subsidy, created in May, was kept in October because of "persistent volatility in international oil prices", according to the Finance Ministry.
Where it rose the most
The South saw the biggest increases, with regular diesel up 11.70% to R$ 6.97, led by Paraná state, where prices jumped 12.66%. Even so, the South and Southeast still post the country's lowest averages, while the North is the most expensive region, at R$ 7.75 for regular diesel. Roraima has the highest state average, R$ 8.19 per liter, and Minas Gerais the lowest, R$ 6.91.
Vinicius Fernandes, a business units director at Edenred Mobilidade, told Transporte Moderno that import dependence leaves the Brazilian market more exposed to international swings and freight costs. Other fuels behaved differently: ethanol rose 2.38% to R$ 4.31, while gasoline barely moved, up 0.15% to R$ 6.73.