The move marks the third consecutive diesel price reduction since early August, while gasoline prices were kept at their current levels, which Petroleo Brasileiro SA, known as Petrobras, set earlier this month.
The change “tracks benchmark prices and is in line with Petrobras’ pricing policies,” said the company, which pegs local fuel prices to international rates, including foreign exchange and global crude prices.
The price cut may also give a much-needed boost to President Jair Bolsonaro’s re-election prospects as he trails former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in opinion polls ahead of an election on Oct. 2. Truckers are generally supportive of Bolsonaro.
Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Christian Plumb and Grant McCool – Reuters
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