Petrobras CEO resigns amid political blowback on fuel prices

Petrobras said that the board member's suggestion in a June 17 letter had not been formally discussed at the firm.

The chief executive of Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras resigned on Monday in the face of mounting pressure from politicians after the firm announced a fuel price hike last week, adding to inflation concerns in an election year.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said in a securities filing that Chief Executive Jose Mauro Coelho had resigned on Monday morning and an interim CEO would now be appointed for the board's consideration. On Friday, after Petrobras said it was raising gasoline and diesel prices at its refineries, Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira called for Coelho's resignation and President Jair Bolsonaro called the move a betrayal of the Brazilian people.

Separately, Petrobras said on Monday that a board member had taken the personal initiative to suggest a 45-day freeze on fuel prices in return for the government to withdraw its proposed shakeup of the company's board and management. Petrobras said that the board member's suggestion in a June 17 letter had not been formally discussed at the firm.

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