Russia set to impose harsher gasoline export restrictions soon, sources say
Currently, restrictions only exist for a small portion of gasoline exports by resellers, while oil companies are still allowed to sell the fuel abroad.
"It's all been decided (with the ban). For now, it's for August and September," one of the sources said.
Another source said the ban could be announced on Monday.
The restrictions will exclude supplies to the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union, a group of five former Soviet states, and to countries such as Mongolia with which Russia has intergovernmental agreements on fuel supplies, the sources said.
The Russian government has applied temporary gasoline export bans several times over the past two years to fend off fuel shortages and combat high prices.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said earlier this month that the government would study the fuel market to understand if further restrictions were warranted.
His office declined a Reuters request for comment on Thursday.
Wholesale gasoline prices on the St Petersburg commodities exchange have been on the rise since the start of last week, with the price of the popular Ai-95 grade reaching an all-time high of 76,293 roubles ($962.69) per metric ton.
Russia produces more than 40 million metric tons of gasoline per year. Egypt and Turkey are the main importers of the Russian fuel.
According to the sources, Russia increased gasoline exports in the first five months of 2025 by around 25% year on year to some 2.51 million tons.
($1 = 79.2500 roubles)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
India to maintain Russian oil imports despite Trump threats, government sources say
NEW DELHI, Aug 2 (Reuters) - India will keep purchasing oil from Russia despite U.S. President Donald Trump's threats of penalties, two Indian government sources told Reuters on Saturday, not wishing to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. On top of a new 25% tariff on India's exports to the U.S., Trump indicated in a Truth Social post last month that India would face additional penalties for purchases of Russian arms and oil. On Friday, Trump told reporters he had heard that India would no longer be buying oil from Russia. But the sources said there would be no immediate changes. "These are long-term oil contracts," one of the sources said. "It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight." Justifying India's oil purchases from Russia, a second source said India's imports of Russian grades had helped avoid a global surge in oil prices, which have remained subdued despite Western curbs on the Russian oil sector. Unlike Iranian and Venezuelan oil, Russian crude is not subject to direct sanctions, and India is buying it below the current price cap fixed by the European Union, the source said. The New York Times also quoted two unnamed senior Indian officials on Saturday as saying there had been no change in Indian government policy. Indian government authorities did not respond to Reuters' request for official comment on its oil purchasing intentions. However, during a regular press briefing on Friday, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has a "steady and time-tested partnership" with Russia. "On our energy sourcing requirements ... we look at what is there available in the markets, what is there on offer, and also what is the prevailing global situation or circumstances," he said. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Trump, who has made ending Russia's war in Ukraine a priority of his administration since returning to office this year, has expressed growing impatience with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks. He has threatened 100% tariffs on U.S. imports from countries that buy Russian oil unless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine. Russia is the leading supplier to India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, accounting for about 35% of its overall supplies. India imported about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil from January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by sources. But while the Indian government may not be deterred by Trump's threats, sources told Reuters this week that Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil after July discounts narrowed to their lowest since 2022 - when sanctions were first imposed on Moscow - due to lower Russian exports and steady demand. Indian Oil Corp ( opens new tab, Hindustan Petroleum Corp ( opens new tab, Bharat Petroleum Corp ( opens new tab and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd ( opens new tab have not sought Russian crude in the past week or so, four sources told Reuters. Nayara Energy - a refinery majority-owned by Russian entities, including oil major Rosneft ( opens new tab, and major buyer of Russian oil - was recently sanctioned by the EU. Nayara's chief executive resigned following the sanctions, and three vessels laden with oil products from Nayara Energy have yet to discharge their cargoes, hindered by the new EU sanctions, Reuters reported last week.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Brazil's Azul secures $650 million investment commitment
SAO PAULO, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Brazilian airline Azul said it signed an agreement with certain stakeholders for a $650 million investment in a future capitalization deal, according to a late Friday securities filing. The airline's so-called "backstop commitment agreement" must be approved by the U.S. court overseeing its bankruptcy proceedings, the filing said. In May, Azul filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States after months of trying to restructure mostly pandemic-era debt.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
India to still buy oil from Russia despite Trump threats, say officials
Indian oil refineries will continue to buy oil from Russia, officials have said, before threatened US sanctions next week against Moscow's trading partners over the war in Ukraine. Media reports on Friday had suggested India, a big energy importer, would stop buying cheap Russian oil. Trump told reporters on Friday that such a move would be 'a good step' if true. 'I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia,' he said. 'That's what I heard. I don't know if that's right or not. That is a good step. We will see what happens.' However, official sources in India, quoted by the news agency ANI, rebutted Trump's claim, saying Indian oil companies had not paused Russian imports and that supply decisions were based on 'price, grade of crude, inventories, logistics and other economic factors'. Trump's remarks came a day after the White House announced tariffs of 25% on all Indian goods, along with a penalty for buying arms and energy from Russia amid the war in Ukraine. Trump has given an 8 August deadline for Vladimir Putin to stop the war or risk further sanctions on tariffs on countries that import Russian oil. Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Indian state-owned refineries had suspended Russian oil purchases amid the tariff threats and narrowing price discounts. But on Saturday the New York Times cited two unnamed senior Indian officials who said there had been no change in Indian government policy related to importing Russian oil. One said the government had 'not given any direction to oil companies' to cease buying oil from Russia. 'These are long-term oil contracts,' one of the sources said. 'It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight.' The sources cited by ANI said Indian oil refineries operated in full compliance with international norms, and that Russian oil had never been directly sanctioned by the US or EU. 'Instead, it was subjected to a G7-EU price-cap mechanism designed to limit revenue while ensuring global supplies continued to flow.' They added: 'India's purchases have remained fully legitimate and within the framework of international norms.' The sources also noted that if India had not 'absorbed discounted Russian crude combined with Opec+ production cuts of 5.8 mb/d [millions of barrels a day], global oil prices could have surged well beyond the March 2022 peak of US$137/bbl [a barrel], intensifying inflationary pressures worldwide'. Sign up to First Thing Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Russia is the top oil supplier to India, responsible for about 35% of the country's supplies. India says that as a major energy importer it must find the cheapest supplies to protect its population against rising costs. On Friday India's foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said: 'We look at what is available in the markets, what is on offer, and also what is the prevailing global situation or circumstances.' Jaiswal added that India had a 'steady and time-tested partnership' with Russia. This partnership has been a point of contention for the White House, with Trump posting on Truth Social on 30 July that while India was 'our friend', it had always bought most of its military equipment from Russia and was 'Russia's largest buyer of ENERGY, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to STOP THE KILLING IN UKRAINE – ALL THINGS NOT GOOD!' In a second post, Trump added: 'I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care.' Ukraine's military said on Saturday it had hit oil facilities inside Russia, including a refinery in Ryazan, causing a fire on its premises. The strike also hit an oil storage facility, a military airfield for drones and an electronics factory.
