Brazil’s Petrobras Raising Prices as Rivals’ Sales Drop

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the worst-performing major oil stock this year, is raising fuel prices even as a recession in Europe and slowdown in China reduces revenue at global energy providers.

Petrobras said July 12 it would boost diesel prices by 6 percent, three weeks after it increased gasoline and diesel prices for the first time in seven months. The government, which controls Petrobras with a majority of voting shares, had resisted higher prices to avoid fanning inflation in the world’s second-largest emerging market. Petrobras has sold fuel below international prices since the start of 2011.