MOSCOW, September 30 - PRIME. The increase in the permissible deviation range of exchange prices from indicative prices for the damping mechanism will stabilize fuel prices in the domestic market of Russia. However, in the long term, everything will depend on the dynamics of oil product output, commented Sergey Tereshkin, General Director of the oil products marketplace "Open Oil Market" (a resident of Skolkovo), to RIA Novosti.
The threshold for possible deviations in wholesale fuel prices from indicative prices for damping payments will be raised by 10 percentage points - to 20% for gasoline and to 30% for diesel fuel, according to materials for the federal budget project for 2026-2028.
"The mere adjustment of damping rules will facilitate price stabilization - albeit at higher levels than in the first half of 2025. Therefore, in the last quarter of 2025, the exchange will experience a certain lull compared to what we observed in August-September," the agency's interlocutor noted.
In the longer term, "the decisive factor will be the dynamics of fuel output," Tereshkin emphasized. If this cannot be stabilized, the risks of price increases will persist in 2026, he believes.
According to the St. Petersburg Exchange, the price of Ai-92 gasoline rose by 6.3% in September, with its average price for the month amounting to 72,302 rubles per ton, which is below the potentially adjusted damping cutoff (72,540 rubles per ton). Consequently, oil companies may receive damping payments if the threshold for permissible deviations in wholesale prices is retrospectively increased by 10 percentage points from September 1.

Damping payments are made in favor of oil companies only if the export price of fuel is higher than the domestic price. Moreover, under the current Tax Code, if the average exchange price of gasoline in Russia exceeds the cutoff by 10% and diesel by 20% for a month, the payments are nullified.

Source: PRIME