The increase in retail prices for petroleum products against the background of falling oil prices in the world is surprising, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today at a meeting with members of the government. "Some things, of course, cause questions: there is an increase of 10% in December of prices for petroleum products, when world oil prices decreased by 35%," Putin noted. According to him, the main growth was recorded in the retail sector, while in the wholesale sector prices are falling. "How can this be explained? And what direction is the Federal Antimonopoly Service looking in?" the head of state asked.
As stated in an interview of a correspondent of “Vestnik Kavkaza” with the head of the State Duma Committee on Energy, today the conventional wisdom is that market mechanisms are working in Russia, and they will put everything in its place.
"In fact, this is not true. Neither in electricity nor in petrol nor in other products' sectors. Therefore, the requirement to increase the regulatory role of the state, in my opinion, is the right one," he said.
"I believe that there is an ability to hold the increase in prices for some of our products on the basis of oil prices, only there is one fundamental problem. It is not only that the government is not involved in the regulation, but also the fact of implementation of wrong decisions. For example, the tax maneuver was carried out in such a way that the initial MET tax is increased significantly starting next year, but the rise in prices for gas and other petroleum products will grow," Grachev said.
"So, in my opinion, the government should impose more general requirements," the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy concluded.
For his part, the director of the Center for International Energy Markets at the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vyacheslav Kulagin, stressed that in the consumer's place he would also express outrage, but in terms of what is happening in the market, it is comprehensible in some way, since oil is cheaper in dollars, and gas is sold in rubles.
"Relatively speaking, oil prices dropped by 35%, but the ruble fell against the dollar by about 50%. Accordingly, if we take a look at our gas in dollars, the price of gas would have decreased not even by 35%, but even by 40%. Meaning that in such terms the prices, of course, are reduced, but for gas we pay not in dollars but in rubles. And because we pay in rubles, we have this situation when there is a decrease in oil prices, but for the internal market all this is fully compensated for precisely by exchange," said Kulagin, adding that the same exchange rate difference and the same prices are taken into account in taxes.
"On the one hand, we have a foreign price that lowers tax on mineral extraction and, on the other hand, the external costs are accounted for by the dollar, in the price on the extraction of the mineral extraction tax. The tax considers the dollar’s rate, which increases the price. And here it turns out what we see in the market - the weakening of the ruble, which led to this price increase. This is such an inevitable factor, though, of course, the FAS needs to work over this situation, to look over the regions and carefully calculate if there was some rise in prices for gas and other petroleum products in some regions higher than the real market situation shows," the expert shared his opinion
"It is possible that somewhere here the companies decided to play on it and make extra money. But initially the economy of the oil industry is such that there is no need to expect that, if oil prices fall, then in precisely the same way the price for gas will fall, because they are simply considered to be in different currencies," he explained.
"If you look at our export price of Urals oil in rubles, recently it is growing, not falling," said Kulagin.
In addition, commenting on Vladimir Putin's speech, he drew attention to the fact that the President's statement traditionally affects the situation in the Russian Federation. "Companies are getting more cautious in their expenses and the prices they set. Of course, the relevant departments, especially the FAS, now begin to pick up the formula for calculating taxes, watch how justified these costs as much as the change in prices, whether what we see at the petrol stations is justified in view of the current economic situation," said the director of the Center for International Energy Markets Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
"It is influenced by a number of factors. It is not only the price of oil, it is also the rate of the dollar, and the change in the margin, and the change of costs. Moreover, it is necessary to look at the same factors across regions, because we have different prices in different regions. That is necessary to identify exactly where this increase was not justified. Accordingly, we must continue to work with these companies to give them the relevant regulations, maybe fine them, but only if it is confirmed," the expert concluded.
