After following a continuous downward trend and decreasing by almost 5 lei/liter in the recent period, fuel prices will now rise slightly. For December 24 – 26, the National Agency for Energy Regulation set a price ceiling of 23.06 lei/liter for diesel fuel and of 22.21 lei/liter for gasoline, down 0.13 lei on today, IPN reports.

According to the Agency, the change is primarily due to market expectations that Russia will cut oil production by 5-7% from the beginning of 2023. The exchanges reacted immediately to Russian officials’ statements about the halt in sales to countries that support the capping of Russian oil prices as from next year.

Reuters reported that exports of Russia’s flagship Urals crude blend from Baltic Sea ports may fall by up to a fifth in December after the European Union, G7 nations and Australia introduced a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil, effective from Dec. 5.

Consequently, both the oil and oil derivatives have grown in price, with the Platts quotations rising by about 10% in the case of gasoline and by approximately 9% in the case of crude oil.