Brazil's Petrobras ups gasoline prices 7%, first hike under new CEO

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian state-run oil company Petrobras on Monday announced its first gasoline price hike in almost a year, and also hiked the price of gas used for cooking and heating.

In a statement, the oil giant announced it will boost gasoline prices for distributors by 7% starting on Tuesday.

Petrobras shares closed up more than 2% on Monday following the announcement, while Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index was up 0.2%.

The announcement marks the first Petrobras gasoline price tweak since Magda Chambriard replaced Jean Paul Prates as chief executive in May. The company last raised gasoline prices 16% last August as global oil prices surged. In October, Petrobras cut gasoline prices by 4%.

Last year, Petrobras ditched a more market-based pricing policy in favor of one that gave it more flexibility to smooth out price swings.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote in a note to clients that the price paid by gasoline distributors in Latin America's biggest economy will still be about 14% lower than market prices.

"On the one hand, we continue to see gasoline prices below international parity and with crack spread margins on the negative side," according to the note, which added that the price hike should allay investor concerns over potential political intervention in pricing.

Gasoline will now rise 0.20 reais ($0.0366) per liter to 3.01 reais/liter. Average prices for Liquefied Petroleum Gas, used mostly for cooking and heating, will also go up, by 3.10 reais to reach 34.70 reais per 13-kg cylinder, according to a company statement.

Andrea Angelo, a strategist at brokerage Warren Investimentos, said the fuel hikes could push up 2024 inflation by 18 basis points, with the benchmark IPCA consumer price index now forecast to rise to 4.28%.

($1 = 5.4639 reais)

(Reporting by Marta Nogueira and Luana Maria Benedito; additional reporting by Andre Romani; Editing by Gabriel Araujo, Tomasz Janowski and David Gregorio)

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