Refined Products, Gasoline

April 17, 2025

Petrobras to cut ULSD S10 prices by Real 120/cu m on April 18

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

HIGHLIGHTS

ULSD futures fall 13 cents/gal since April 1 price cut

US tariffs affect ULSD imports into Brazil

Platts prices show discount to Petrobras' reference rates

Brazilian state-owned Petrobras confirmed it will cut its diesel posted prices by an average of Real 120/cu m and keep gasoline prices unchanged, effective April 18.

The new Petrobras posted price average will be Real 3,430/cu m. According to Petrobras, considering the mandatory blend of 86% diesel A and 14% biodiesel for the composition of diesel B sold at the pump, its share in the consumer price will now be Real 2,950/cu m, a reduction of Real 100/cu m for each liter of diesel B.

With the announced adjustment, Petrobras has reduced diesel prices for distributors by Real 1,060/cu m since December 2022, a decrease of 23.6%. Considering the inflation during this period, this reduction amounts to Real 1,590/cu m or 31.7%. The company's latest price change went into effect April 1, when it decreased diesel posted prices by Real 170/cu m on average.

Market participants had anticipated the movement after Petrobras' S10 tender for May delivery, in which it requested buyers to withdraw all quota volumes before accessing the auction volume.

The announcement comes after the ULSD futures May contract fell around 13 cents/gal to $2.0784/gal since the last Petrobras cut, effective April 1.

Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump have reopened the arbitrage window for ULSD imports into Brazil. From early April, the ULSD May contract on NYMEX fell 20.95 cents/gal to $2.0699/gal on April 14.

Trump announced the new tariffs April 2, starting with a minimum of 10% on imports from all countries, effective April 5. The US subsequently paused the tariffs for 90 days for all other countries but maintained them for China, increasing uncertainties about global economic growth.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the price for ULSD, domestically known as S10 diesel, at Real 3,324.50/cu m on an FCA Itaqui port basis on April 16, a Real 80/cu m discount to Petrobras' reference refinery price on an ETM Sao Luis basis.

Brazilian FCA markets assessed by Platts have been at discounts against Petrobras' prices since April 3.

According to the Brazilian fuel importer association Abicom, the import arbitrage window for S10 diesel and gasoline has been open for the past seven days.


Editor:

Register for free to continue reading

Gain access to exclusive research, events and more

Already have an account?Log in here