Brazil government pledges to keep hand off Petrobras

Petroleo Brasileiro SA’s market-based diesel pricing policy remains unchanged and Brazil’s president has no intention of meddling in Petrobras’ internal affairs, high-ranking government officials said on Tuesday. A call by President Jair Bolsonaro last week to the chief executive of Petrobras led the state-run company to call off a sharp diesel price increase and revived investor fears about political influence, hammering the share price of Petrobras. The episode underscored the leverage of truckers in Brazil, which relies overwhelmingly on road freight to get agricultural exports to port and keep its economy humming. It left investors doubting the liberal bona fides of Bolsonaro’s government, which has decried state interventionism under some of its predecessors.