Oil Evaporates Under Strong Selling Pressure, Reaching $66 a Barrel and Pressuring Petrobras Amid Gasoline Price Hike, Which Saw Another Increase on August 12

Petrobras Pressured to Lower Gasoline Prices as Oil Prices Drop and Ethanol Gains Strength with Parity Above 70% with Competing Fuel

The price of oil evaporates to less than US$ 66 a barrel this Thursday, its lowest level since May, pressured by concerns over weaker demand due to rising COVID-19 cases, a stronger U.S. dollar, and a surprising increase in U.S. gasoline inventories. In Brazil, this pressures Petrobras to reduce gasoline prices, which on the last 12th suffered another adjustment of 3.3%.

Also Read

• Direct Sales from Ethanol Plants to Gas Stations Generate Benefits for Consumers Who Will Enjoy Low Prices and Quality
• Job Openings for Elementary, High School, and College Levels Opened Yesterday (08/12) to Work at an Ethanol Plant
• End of Brand Loyalty at Gas Stations and Direct Sales of Ethanol from Plants Approved; Measures Promise to Stimulate Competition and Curb the Rise in Gasoline Prices
• Raízen Announces Acquisition of Paraguayan Company for US$ 130 Million and Celebrates Sales of 460 Million Liters of Cellulosic Ethanol Over Nine Years
• Severe Increase in Gasoline, Ethanol, and CNG Prices Affects App Drivers from Uber and 99, and Delivery Riders from Rappi and iFood, Who Consider Leaving the Profession

After five sessions of declining trades on ICE Europe, oil evaporates under strong pressure from sellers liquidating October positions, the driver contract.

The Dollar Reached the Highest Level in Nine Months, Weighing on Dollar-Denominated Commodities.

Both Brent and U.S. oil fell for six consecutive days, the longest streak of declines since a six-day drop for both contracts that ended on February 28, 2020.

It loses 3.20, to US$ 66 a barrel (as of 9 a.m. yesterday), based on concerns about the spread of the delta variant and the chaotic takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, clear signs that some countries are already feeling the impact on consumption, exposing the increase in inventories in the future without producers showing any signs of halting production.

“Concerns over reduced demand expectations as a result of an increase in coronavirus cases worldwide contributed to the decline,” said Naeem Aslam from Avatrade brokerage.

“The potential withdrawal of monetary support, the chaotic takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban that threatens another migration crisis, and concerns over the ongoing spread of the virus keep the demand for the dollar high, which in turn acts as a break on any attempts to raise oil prices.””

Petrobras Pressured to Lower Gasoline Prices as Oil Prices Drop and Ethanol Gains Strength with Parity Above 70%

In this circumstance, the market expectations for a reduction in gasoline pressure on Petrobras rise, following the 3.3% increase on August 12, which raises alerts for ethanol.

Even if today’s drop may be temporary, the fall is significant to return above US$ 70 a barrel in the coming sessions, particularly since the alert with the advancement of COVID should continue to give room for stress among speculators on derivatives.

Hydrated ethanol came from two strong increases at the plants in the last two weeks and was already at a parity above 70% with the competing fuel.