Chief Executive Officer Maria das Gracas Foster has told Brazil Finance Minister , who chairs the state-run oil producer, that it needs at least a 10 percent increase in fuel prices, said a person with direct knowledge of the talks. Foster said at a recent board meeting that the gasoline and diesel increase is needed to reduce the cost of subsidizing fuel imports, the person said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. Foster also said a 10 percent rise wouldn’t be enough to completely eliminate subsidies or reduce the debt-to-equity ratio, or leverage, to an internal target of 35 percent by year-end, the person said. A weaker Brazilian real compared with the has increased the cost of importing gasoline and diesel and put a strain on the Rio de Janeiro-based company’s , the person said. It’s the first time this year Foster has specified the […]