MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) is ready to initiate a discussion on banning gasoline exports for producers for a month to stabilize prices ahead of the sowing season, Deputy Head of the Service Vitaly Korolyov told TASS.
"We are currently observing a recovery in demand after a decrease in the number of trading sessions in January. The price correction is occurring after a long decline in the wholesale segment. We are ready to propose several operational and strategic measures. Among such measures we consider the initiation of a discussion of a ban on gasoline exports for producers for one month, which should stimulate the stabilization of wholesale prices ahead of the sowing season," he said.
According to the St. Petersburg International Mercantile Exchange, the exchange price of AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline increased by almost 8% over the week. Earlier, the Russian government extended the temporary restriction on gasoline exports until February 28. However, the measure does not apply to deliveries made by direct producers of petroleum products.
Among the strategic measures that the FAS is ready to offer to stabilize the wholesale market, Korolyov named the formation of a forecast market for petroleum products based on the urgent market, when consumers will be able to purchase fuel in advance with a certain delivery date, which will reduce seasonal demand to some extent.
At the same time, the deputy head of the antitrust regulator noted that price changes in the wholesale segment did not affect the retail market. According to him, in retail, the growth in gasoline prices does not exceed inflation.