Prospects for lifting the ban on gasoline exports from Russia

Sergey Kondratiev, Principal Director on Economic Studies at the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to the TASS news agency on lifting the ban on gasoline exports.

Sergey Kondratiev noted that the situation on the domestic market has stabilized and the cancellation of exports will not lead to a reduction in supplies to Russian consumers.

"Among the key factors, I would single out the end of the autumn repairs of the refinery and the return to the payments of the damper in full. The increase in the loading of the refinery in recent weeks has led to an increase in gasoline production - up to 0.8 million tons per week at the end of October, and the payments of the damper allow to stabilize wholesale prices at the level of 50-52 thousand rubles per ton," the expert said.

He added that an important factor was the reduction of the crack spread (the difference in the price of oil and petroleum products produced from it) for gasoline on the European market, which means the stabilization of prices of export alternatives at lower levels.