Brazil's Petrobras reported second-quarter profit that fell by nearly a third from a year earlier, missing expectations as oil prices fell and it took charges for layoffs and the impairment of a refinery. Petrobras said net income fell 30% to 370 million Reais (US$118 million) in the three months ended June 30 compared with a profit of 531 million Reais a year earlier.
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff approved a resolution to maintain the current system for establishing the minimum price of oil on which royalty payments are paid by state-run oil company Petrobras to local governments.