By Brazil Stock Guide – Supergasbras and Ultragaz cut cooking gas prices in Brazil after state-controlled Petrobras (PETR4; PBR) suspended auctions of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, and resumed selling the fuel at list prices, Broadcast reported.
The reductions took effect May 1 and apply to the 13-kilogram cylinder, widely used by Brazilian households for cooking. The cuts will also be extended proportionally to larger volumes sold to industrial customers, according to the report.
Supergasbras lowered the price of a 13-kilogram cylinder by 1.53 reais, after already informing customers of a 1.47-real reduction on April 14. The company said the latest adjustment would also apply proportionally to other cylinder sizes.
“This reduction, like the previous one, will be applied proportionally in kilograms to the other packages (P20 and P45),” Supergasbras told customers, according to Broadcast.
Ultragaz, owned by Ultrapar Participações SA (UGPA3; UGP), cut the price of the 13-kilogram cylinder by 3.04 reais. In notices to clients, both companies said the reductions reflected lower raw-material costs after Petrobras suspended its LPG auctions.
The move follows LPG auctions held by Petrobras on March 31, when high premiums pushed prices higher. The result displeased President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and was followed by the departure of Petrobras Commercialization and Logistics Director Claudio Schlosser.
The National Union of LPG Distribution Companies, known as Sindigás, said it does not comment on prices, projections or market estimates, and does not have information beyond what has been made public. It also said it does not interfere in commercial strategies or pricing policies adopted by member companies.
“The monitoring carried out by the union is based exclusively on public data released by official bodies and company communications, maintaining its commitment to transparency and the correct interpretation of available information,” Sindigás said.