Indicative fuel damper prices could change - Russian energy minister

MOSCOW. Oct 9 (Interfax) - The Russian Energy Ministry holds open the possibility that indicative fuel damper prices will change, Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov told reporters.

Speaking about changes in indicative prices for the fuel damper, he recalled that these were indexed annually. "The question of further changes must be viewed in their dynamics, since circumstances that also affect prices may change," Shulginov said.

"In general, changes are possible," he said.

According to the Tax Code, indicative prices for the damper mechanism for 2023 were set at 56,900 rubles/tonne for gasoline and 53,850 rubles/tonne for diesel fuel. The fuel damper zeroes out if average SPIMEX European Russia prices for a month are higher than the indicative price for even one of the petroleum products: by 10% for gasoline and 20% for diesel.

As reported, oil companies will no longer receive the fuel damper from the budget for September, as average exchange prices for petroleum products in September were much higher than the cut-off point, after which the damper is reset to zero.

Based on SPIMEX data, according to the European territorial index, in September the average price of Ai-92 reached 64,080 rubles per tonne, while according to the current Tax Code the cut-off for damper payments is 62,590 rubles/tonne. For diesel fuel, the average exchange price reached 68,616 rubles/tonne, while the cutoff is at 64,620 rubles/tonne.