Fuel prices in Russia are now subject to censorship

Rosstat, Russia's central governmental executive body responsible for generating official statistics in the country, will stop releasing its bulletin on consumer prices for petrol and diesel fuel after the Russian government made corresponding changes to the federal statistical work plan.

Source: The Bell, a leading independent Russian news outlet

Details: The order says item 1.5.13 will be removed. "Behind this set of figures in Rosstat's Federal Statistical Work Plan, which lists all available statistical indicators, is the entry 'Information on consumer prices for petroleum products'," The Bell explained.

The bulletin contained fuel prices broken down by grade, region and 1,800 filling stations in 280 cities.

Quote: "In essence, information that made it possible to monitor and verify fuel inflation will disappear."

More details: The latest Russian statistics showed that from 16 to 22 June, amid a fuel shortage, petrol in Russia rose in price by 3% and diesel fuel by 2.7%.

Bloomberg reported that this was the biggest weekly increase in at least the past 20 years. The sharpest increases were recorded in the Caucasus, where petrol prices rose by 16.5% in Dagestan and 15.2% in Chechnya.

Background:

• Since late May, more than 30 Russian regions have introduced restrictions on fuel sales, Kommersant reported. The strictest regime is in temporarily occupied Crimea and Sevastopol. Free petrol sales there were suspended on 21 June, with filling stations fully switched to supplying emergency and state services.
• Russian leader Vladimir Putin has claimed that damage from Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries is "not critical" but has said there is a need to increase the production of air defence systems to protect these facilities and improve the performance of units tasked with downing drones.
• Russia is recording problems in the road haulage market caused by fuel supply disruptions, affecting not only domestic hauliers but also companies transporting goods abroad.
• Petrol stations in temporarily occupied Crimea, including those belonging to major chains, have begun closing en masse.

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