Ipiranga Closes Refinery

Ipiranga, Brazil’s second-largest oil company, shut down an unprofitable refinery, saying it was unable to compete with state-owned Petrobras. Ipiranga has been hurt by the government’s efforts to control inflation by slowing fuel price increases charged by Petrobras, which controls 98% of the market in Brazil, even as crude oil prices have climbed to record highs. Petrobras has raised fuel prices 18% since January 2004, while crude oil prices have climbed more than 50%.