SAO PAULO: The chief executive of Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras resigned on Monday in the face of mounting pressure from politicians after the firm announced a fuel price hike last week, adding to inflation concerns in an election year.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, said in a securities filing that CEO Jose Mauro Coelho had resigned on Monday morning.

In a separate filing, it added that Chief Exploration and Production Officer Fernando Borges was appointed interim CEO until a new boss is elected and takes office.

Borges will become Petrobras’ fourth chief executive since Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019.

Preferred shares in the company fell 5% right after the announcement, but erased losses and were up about 1% by midday trading. Brazil’s Bovespa stock index rose 0.2%.

Coelho had succeeded Roberto Castello Branco and Joaquim Silva e Luna, both ousted after disagreements with Bolsonaro on the company’s fuel pricing policy.