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Finance Ministry ready to use over-the-counter quotations to determine price of Urals oil

Alexey Sazanov added that there are transactions with related parties that could potentially distort the quotation

MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Russia’s Finance Ministry is ready to use over-the-counter (OTC) quotations of the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange (SPIMEX) to determine the price of Urals oil, exchange quotations are not liquid enough. Alexey Sazanov, Secretary of State, Deputy Finance Minister, said this talking to reporters on Monday.

"We are ready to take into account the over-the-counter quotation, we understand that exchange trading is not liquid enough," he said.

Sazanov added that there are transactions with related parties that could potentially distort the quotation. Therefore, the Finance Ministry proposes to exclude transactions with affiliates when determining the price of Urals, taking into account the over-the-counter quotations of the SPIMEX, the deputy minister noted. According to him, there are few such deals, but they do exist.

In addition, Sazanov stressed that at the initial stage, the over-the-counter indicators of the SPIMEX can be used simultaneously with other quotations to avoid reduction in budget revenues. "If the over-the-counter quotes are representative and provide the budget revenues that we plan, then, of course, over time this (the use of over-the-counter quotes to calculate Urals for tax purposes - TASS) is possible," the Deputy Finance Minister explained.

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