Brazil's Petrobras falls into red due to write-downs

[BRASÍLIA] Brazilian oil giant Petrobras reported on Thursday that it suffered a US$4.9 billion loss in the third quarter, hit by a weakening currency and low oil prices.

The group's financial director Ivan Monteiro said these factors plus write-downs on certain investments had "a very big impact" on earnings.

Petrobras is reeling from a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal.

The affair contributed to the downfall of president Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached in August.

Investigators have found that corrupt Petrobras executives, contractors and politicians bilked the company out of billions of dollars over a decade.

The loss was a surprise after the company returned to profit in the second quarter.

It has announced measures to get its books in order.

Last month it said it was cutting investments by 25 per cent for the period 2017 to 2021.

AFP