The average price of Urals in January fell to $49.5 per barrel

The average price for the Russian grade of Urals oil in January was $49.48/bbl, which is 1.7 times lower than in January 2022 and almost 2% less than in December, informed Ministry of Finance of Russia.

AT december In 2022, the average Urals price was $50.47/bbl, and in november – $66.47/bbl The average for January turned out to be higher than the price for the period from December 15, 2022 to January 14 ($46.82/bbl). At the same time, the average price of this variety in January-December 2022 was $76.09/bbl. compared to $69.0/bbl. in 2021

On December 5, the ceiling on Russian oil prices of $60 per barrel, introduced by the EU and G7 countries, came into force, it is expected to be reviewed every two months so that the ceiling level is 5% lower than the price of Urals. For oil products, the restriction will come into effect on February 5. In addition to the EU countries, the G7 countries and Australia also joined the ceiling.

January 11, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak acknowledgedthat the introduction of a price cap led to difficulties in the form of a high discount on raw materials. However, he hoped that the situation would be temporary. On the same day, the Ministry of Finance announced that the budget in January could receive less than 54.5 billion rubles. oil and gas revenues. The Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank also announced on the resumption of foreign exchange interventions within the framework of the fiscal rule.

“Vedomosti” earlier wrotethat the authorities began to intensively discuss changing the principles for calculating the price of oil for tax purposes against the backdrop of a sharp decline in the cost of Urals in recent months. On January 11, at a meeting of the president with members of the government, the issue of increasing the Urals discount was discussed, among other things. Russian President Vladimir Putin asked Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak to analyze this problem so that it “does not create any problems with the budget.”

Putin instructed the government to submit proposals by March 1 to clarify the methodology for calculating the price of oil and oil products for tax purposes. According to Vedomosti interlocutors close to the government, the main option at the moment is to tie the price of Urals to the benchmark grades: Brent or Dubai Crude.