Russian Export Duties Raised

Russia's Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov signed December 15 a ruling to hike the oil export duty to $33.9 per tonne as of February 1, 2004 from the current $31.2 per tonne, the government press service reported Monday.

The duty on oil products will be hiked to $30.5 per tonne from the current $28.1 per tonne, a month after the ruling is published in the government Rosiyaskaya Gazeta daily, the press service said. The duty on crude oil products, extracted from bituminous rocks, will be hiked February 1, the press service added.

The new duty rate was set to reflect the rise of the Urals blend oil price in November-December 2003, the press service said.