28 May 2004 10:43
Russian antimonopoly body accuses oil suppliers of price fixing
Stavropol, 28 May: The Stavropol branch of the Federal Antimonopoly Service has accused companies supplying petroleum
products to the territory of colluding to raise petrol prices. The directorate told ITAR-TASS today that all the petrol
stations in the territory had simultaneously, within a few hours of each other, raised the prices of petroleum products
by nearly 10 per cent. Drivers now have to buy a litre of 92-octane petrol for R12.5 [0.43 dollars], whereas earlier it
cost R11.4. The prices of all other grades of petrol have also soared.
The directorate has drawn preliminary conclusions that by simultaneously raising petrol prices, the oil companies
selling petrol in the territory, Stavropolnefteprodukt, Lukoil-Yugnefteprodukt, Kondor, Rosneft-Kavminvody, Bashoil-KMV,
Fler and others, have violated the federal law "On competition and the restriction of monopolist activity in
commodity markets".
The antimonopoly directorate will draw its final conclusions on whether there has been a price-fixing agreement after
all the accused oil companies present a complete list of financial documentation saying at what prices the petroleum
products were purchased on the wholesale market.
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
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