"Russian-based petroleum companies cannot plot between themselves to boost fuel prices all together," he said to a news conference in Nizhni Novgorod, major industrial seat on the Volga.
There is sound competition in the Russian oil market to prevent a corporate plot for unified pricing policies. Price rises are keeping up with the inflation pace and certainly are not rooted in anyone's ill will, he reassured.
Current Russian fuel prices are even below last December's though demands are skyrocketing as spring sowing has started in the countryside, added the tycoon.
Fuel prices certainly cannot stay steady, what with a great many influences on them-suffice it to mention export duties soon to come up for several commodities, he pointed out.
Russian gasoline consumer prices came 1.6 per cent down within the first quarter-year, the Federal State Statistical Service reported today.
Another announcement came from the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, yesterday. It said it has inquired with ten Russian-based petroleum mammoths-LUKoil, Sibneft, Surgutneftegas, TNK-BP Management, Yukos, Rosneft, Tatneft, NK Alliance, Bashneft and Slavneft-about fuel price rises. The involved companies are to reply before May 10.
The Anti-Monopoly Service is after information about petroleum extraction indices, export amounts of petroleum and oil products, the costs and amounts of oil which extracting companies are supplying to petrochemical works, these latter's sale prices, wholesale prices appointed by corporate sellers, retail prices charged by the mammoths' gasoline station chains, and the number of stations in every part of Russia.
The Service is also inquiring about price fluctuations for farmers, and the amount of petroleum products offered them. The informants are to specify price change dates and reasons for the changes.
