Gasoline became cheaper in February in Belo Horizonte, as the average fuel price in the capital fell by 1.25% compared to January 17th.
The average price per liter of fuel went from R$ 4.721 to R$ 4.662 in the period. The numbers are from research on the Mercado Mineiro website.
The coordinator of the Mercado Mineiro website, Feliciano Abreu, now says that the drop in the price of gasoline was already expected, since there was a pass-through of the reduction.
Drop in Prices
As “The decline was passed on over time. I don't know if it arrived in full as it should. But it is within the context”, he argues.
Abreu points out that the discussion about charging ICMS on fuel, which involved President Jair Bolsonaro and governors this month, may have contributed.
"This issue came to light, how much the tax burden weighs on fuel, as well as having influenced both the reduction of consumption and also the price reduction".
On the other hand, Abreu believes that the oil workers' strike – which is now in its 17th day – did not affect fuel pricing in Greater Belo Horizonte.
However, the coordinator of the Mercado Mineiro website says that if the stoppage had affected, the research would have verified an increase in prices, not a fall.
Price Variations
Firstly, the survey also recorded that the average price of gasoline in the East Region of BH is the lowest: R$ 4.58 in southeast.
Subsequently, the most expensive liter of gasoline was found in the Center-South Region, for R$ 4.75 on average.
The price variation between the gas stations in the capital that participated in the survey was 13.39%.
Except that Mercado Mineiro concluded that Belo Horizonte drivers can choose between fuels, without much difference.
This is because the average price of a liter of alcohol – R$ 3.269 – reached 70%, which serves as a reference for comparing the average price of gasoline – R$ 4.662.
In short, the drop is explained by a reduction promoted by Petrobras. Among the stations surveyed, price ranged from R$ 3.67 to R$ 4.299, variation 17%.
