Moscow gasoline prices has gone up 5.5 percent in the last 3 weeks.
Photo: Alexey Kudenko
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Gasoline Prices Grow Catching Up with Inflation
The Moscow Fuel Association said yesterday gasoline prices in Moscow had gone up 5.5 percent in the last three weeks. Russian statistics officials posted an average 3.2 percent rise in gasoline prices in Russia in the first half of August. Despite all efforts of the government to battle growing gasoline prices, retail gasoline prices are still equal to overall inflation, the two figures 6.9 up since January.
Moscow prices at the pump have gone up an average 5.5 percent over the past three weeks, the Moscow Fuel Association reported.
The hike can be attributed to the fact that gasoline prices were growing slower than inflation. According to the Russian Statistics Agency, gasoline prices rose 3.7 percent on the average in Russian between January and July this year. Gasoline added 3.2 percent in the last two weeks. A liter of gasoline cost some 17.29 rubles (or $0.6) in mid-August. The price growth reached the inflation pace, the two indications coming to the annual 6.9 percent.
Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref said fuel price growth should not be higher that 9 percent – the benchmark that the government has set for inflation. The minister also recalled last year’s moratorium of Russia’s largest oil companies which froze gasoline prices in October-December 2005.
The Economic Development Ministry, however, did not confirm new talks with oil companies on freezing prices.
Resorting to the old practice of deals with the Russian market means the government has given up on the Economic Development Ministry’s program on influencing gasoline market. The steps include periods of grace for new oil deposits, differentiating mining operations tax, organizing trade of oil products at exchanges, lifting import duties on equipment for refineries and other measures.
www.kommersan.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 23, 2006
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