Brazil's Mantega Says Cheaper Oil Doesn't Preclude Petrobras Price Hike

Lower global oil prices will not necessarily keep Brazil's state-run oil producer Petrobras from increasing domestic fuel prices this year, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Wednesday.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, currently imports fuel at global market prices in order to satisfy local demand, though the government compels the company to sell it at a loss to help tamp down inflation.

(Reporting by Nestor Rabelo Editing by W Simon)