‘The recent increase in fuel prices is not going to influence food prices right now, and even if it does, it will only happen at the end of the season when farmers get the final data on the prime cost of their produce. Whether the prices will keep going up in the future depends on the global oil prices and the Russian Government’s stance on economic leveling of domestic market prices (through tax relief, for instance: this could make selling on the home market more profitable than exporting oil, so the prices might grow steadier),’ Alexei Podolyako of Alliance Non-Commercial Partnership said to UrBC.

The average gasoline price increased somewhat in thirty-nine Russian subjects between May 19, 2008 and May 25, 2008. The increase was most dramatic in Yekaterinburg where it came to 2.6%; in addition, AI 76 grew 3.2 % more expensive, the Federal State Statistics Service reports.

‘Gasoline grows increasingly costlier, and this trend is likely to continue. Two or three percent is not too much, but the problem is that Russia appears to have a somewhat overheated economy. People’s incomes go up faster than the labor productivity, which leads to growing prices,’ Alexei Podolyako added.