Weekly Report - 14 January 2016 (WR-16-02)

Brazil’s state oil company, Petrobras, has cut its investment budget for 2015-2019 by around 25%. On 12 January the company announced that it would invest R$98.4bn (US$24.5bn) over the next four years, down from a June target of R$130.3bn. It’s the third time in six months that Petrobras has reduced its investment target. The decision will have a knock-on effect on the Brazilian economy as a whole. According to a study published last year by the ministry of finance, every R$1bn cut in spending by Petrobras leads to a R$2bn fall in Brazil’s GDP.