UPDATE: Govt to cut gasoline, diesel fuel excise duties from Friday

(Adds comments by Rosneft in last two paragraphs)

MOSCOW, May 31 (PRIME) -- The Russian government plans to cut gasoline excises by 3,000 rubles per tonne and diesel fuel excises by 2,000 rubles per tonne already from Friday and by additional 700 rubles per tonne from July 1, a participant of a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak on Wednesday told PRIME on Thursday.

Kozak’s representative Ilya Dzhus confirmed that the reduction of fiscal burden on the oil industry for stabilization of the situation on the fuel market was discussed. He said that 700 rubles is the abolishment of an earlier planned increase of excise duties on gasoline and diesel fuel from July 1.

First Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier that the government will reduce gasoline excises by 3,700 rubles per tonne and diesel fuel excises by 2,700 rubles per tonne from July 1.

Oil major Rosneft’s press secretary Mikhail Leontyev told PRIME that oil companies promised to keep gasoline prices at Russian gas filling stations unchanged during around a month at a meeting with Kozak.

“There are agreements on urgent measures from both sides – from the side of the government and from the side of oil companies. The government takes simple measures to reduce fiscal burden on the industry, first of all on oil processing and retail sales, while companies are committed not to raise prices in response to it and use time to agree on some more fundamental, system decisions,” he said.

(62.5937 rubles – U.S. $1)

End