MOSCOW, April 2 (RIA Novosti) - The average price of Russia's benchmark Urals crude blend was $93.36 per barrel in the first quarter of 2008, up $39.12 year-on-year, a senior Finance Ministry official said on Wednesday.
Alexander Sakovich, deputy head of the ministry's customs department, said the Urals average price in March 2008 was $99.78 per barrel, compared to $58.86 per barrel in the same month last year.
He said the new oil export tax, to be set on June 1, could be raised from the current figure of $340.1 per metric ton, set on April 1.
The Russian government adjusts export duty on crude and petroleum products every two months, depending on changes in the Urals blend price on world markets.
On March 24, Russia's economics ministry raised its 2008 forecast for the annual average price of Urals by 16% to $86 per barrel.
The ministry raised its Urals forecast for the year in late January from $56 to $74 per barrel.
