Glencore enters Mexican fuel-station business (Bloomberg)

Javier Blas / Bloomberg

Glencore Plc is entering the fuel-stations business in Mexico with a 15-year supply deal and a $200 million investment in a joint-venture with local owners, according to people familiar with the decision.

The agreement is the first significant move for Glencore in the retail fuel sector. It comes as commodities traders including Vitol Group BV and Trafigura Group have pushed into the business globally, with hundreds of stations from Latin America to Africa serving as outlets for the products they trade.

Glencore will supply 180,000 barrels a day of gasoline and diesel to 1,400 stations, about 10 percent of the country?s total, the people said, asking not to be named because the deal hasn?t been announced. The move comes after Mexico ended a long-standing monopoly by its state-controlled energy company, and last month boosted gasoline prices to aid distributors.

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