“So far, the Government hasn't been informed officially about the asking price of the Russian gas delivered to Moldova as of July 1”, Economy & Trade Minister Igor Dodon told reporters. “The agreement signed with Gazprom in 2006, covering a timeframe of 5 years, provides for an annual discount for the gas delivered to Moldova from what Europe pays on average. The deduction offered for this year is 0.75-0.8 percent. Experts say that upon the application of this discount the price could be around 240 US dollars per one thousand cubic meters (which is by 13% more than what Moldova pays today – e.n.). But details will be available at the beginning of July”, said Dodon. The minister has added that it's too early to say how much the price will rise for the end consumer. This will be decided by the national energy regulator according to the methodologies used in calculating the tariffs. In the first quarter, purchases of Russian gas rose by 17.4% and amounted to $98.6 million. Expressed in national currency, the rise constituted 1.8% and totaled 1.093 billion lei. The discrepancy is due to a stronger leu against the US dollar, the currency used to calculate the import price of natural gas. In the first quarter, Moldova's gas consumption (excluding the Transnistrian region) increased by 6.4% compared to the similar period last year and added up to 480.05 million cubic meters.