The Russian Antimonopoly Service may impose a one-month ban on gasoline exports by major producers to stabilize wholesale prices before the sowing season, TASS reported, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
The Russian agency quoted Vitaly Korolev, deputy head of the antimonopoly service, as saying that an export ban was only one of several possible solutions.
Currently, major oil companies are allowed to export gasoline, but traders and resellers are under a ban introduced last March.
Wholesale gasoline prices in Russia have been recovering recently, Korolev said, explaining that this is a correction after a long decline. The growth of retail prices does not exceed the general level of inflation, he added.
An alternative strategy for stabilizing the wholesale market could be the creation of a forward market (for transactions at a certain future point in time at a price agreed between the parties – ed. note) in order to partially reduce seasonal demand, Korolev further explained.