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Ethanol prices at plants in the State of São Paulo have risen sharply in the last week and are impacting prices at station pumps, according to data and assessments from Cepea and ValeCard released this Monday.
Hydrated ethanol rose 6.78% last week compared to the previous period, closing at 3.0917 reais/liter, according to the Cepea/Esalq indicator, which takes into account the value at the São Paulo plant.
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“The continuity of rain in the main producing regions in the center-south of the country continues to support biofuel prices,” said an analysis by the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics (Cepea), this Monday.
According to the Esalq/USP center, “a good number of the plants that have already started the 2023/24 season show difficulties in removing raw materials from the field and, consequently, in producing ethanol”, due to recurring rains.
Cepea also said that shipments from previously closed sales “remain slow”, which helps explain the price gains, although the main producing region officially started the harvest at the beginning of the month, when supply begins to increase after the off-season. .
The value determined in the Cepea survey is the highest nominal price of hydrous (used directly in flex vehicles) since the week ending May 27, 2022, when the indicator reached 3.2486 reais/liter.
The increase in plants has been reflected in pumps at gas stations.
Between April 17th and 23rd, the average price of hydrous ethanol in the country was 4.087 reais per liter, an increase of 1.87% compared to the previous week, according to ValeCard.
“This is the second consecutive weekly increase in hydrated ethanol in April, following a downward trend in fuel prices seen in March,” said Brendon Rodrigues, head of innovation and portfolio at ValeCard, a company specializing in fleet management solutions. which monitors more than 25 thousand accredited establishments in Brazil.
Rodrigues cited data from Cepea and recalled that, between the 3rd and 20th of April, the production plants in São Paulo increased the price of hydrated ethanol by 12.63%, “which is also reflected in an increase at gas stations”.
Anhydrous ethanol, mixed in a proportion of 27% with gasoline, closed last week at the plant at 3.4742 reais/liter, an increase of 6.28% from the previous period, the highest nominal value since the week ending July 22, 2022.
The rise in ethanol has supported gasoline prices, but it can also motivate consumers to use fossil fuel for its economy.
The use of biofuel pays off financially in relation to gasoline – discounting factors such as the individual range of each vehicle – when a liter of renewable fuel is equal to or less than 70% of the price of its fossil competitor.
The price of a liter of gasoline at gas stations in Brazil increased by 0.19% last week compared to the previous week (10 to 16 April), with an average value of 5.746 reais/liter, according to ValeCard.
“For the third week in a row we observed a slight increase in gasoline prices, mainly due to the increase in anhydrous ethanol prices at producing plants,” said Rodrigues, in a note.
“In the coming weeks we could see new increases if Petrobras decides to pass on the increase in oil prices on the international market to the distributors,” he said.
The average price of a liter of S-10 diesel oil at gas stations decreased by 0.23% between April 17 and 23, 2023, compared to the previous week. The value of the most used fuel in Brazil has been pressured by cheaper imports and by factors such as biodiesel, in some areas.
Source: Roberto Samora | Notícias Agrícolas
