‘Despite the increasing wholesale prices, the retail diesel oil prices have remained stable this month,’ the spokesperson for Most Ltd. (part of Most filling stations chain) said to UrBC representative.

‘We are not expecting the petrol prices to soar any time soon. The demand for diesel oil has remained the same and there doesn’t even seem to be any shortage that could be possible due to cold weather,’ the spokesperson noted.

The data presented by Kortes information agency indicate that the Russian wholesale prices have gone up by an average of 2% since the beginning of the year, thus reaching a point of 13,778 RUR per ton. The AI-petrol is now sold at 14,079 RUR per ton (an increase of 2.33%), AI-92 comes at 16,108 RUR per ton (an increase of 2.02%), AI-95 costs 17,326 RUR per ton (an increase of 0.26%).

Yet Kortes Analyst Lyudmila Lurie believes it’s early times yet to speak of a trend as such since only a number of refineries had their prices go up. LUKOIL refineries, for instance, as well as the ones belonging to Rosneft haven’t announced any increase in prices yet. However, according to Vedomosti newspaper, the refineries in Bashkiria are now selling their petrol at 500 RUR to 800 RUR per ton more expensively, with the corresponding increases for TNK-BP, Refinery of Omsk and Refinery of Moscow being 200 RUR to 100 RUR per ton, 400 RUR to 650 RUR per ton and 200 RUR to 600 RUR per ton, respectively. As for diesel oil, it is now being sold 400 RUR to 800 RUR more expensively by almost every dealer.