Moldovan oil companies likely to cut prices by up to 0.5 lei per litre on next days

 “The oil employees gave assurances that the prices will be reduced,” the deputy prime minister stressed. He added that, next week, “if necessary,” a new meeting would be held to see to what extent the companies have fulfilled their promises, “what are the problems, which are their excuses and afterwards we will eventually intervene with sanctions too.”. 

 “What is important for the state is to make sure that the oil employees observe the legislation, that they have no cartel interests and that everything they do is transparent,” Andrian Candu said. He stressed that he had not said that the prices were not justified. The oil companies will cut the prices, after they exhaust the stocks of fuel formed one month ago, when the prices were higher. 

 At the same time, the companies would have “a small justification only due to the currency exchange rate. Yet, at the same time, our analysis shows that, in the nearest time, they should come up with tendencies of high reduction of prices,” the economics minister said. 

 At a cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca asked the National Agency for Energy Regulation, Economics Ministry to quickly assess the situation on the domestic market of oil products and approve a new methodology of formation of prices for oil products. The prime minister has repeatedly showed discontent with the fact that the petrol and diesel oil rates had been recently increased by 0.20 and 0.30 lei per one litre, while the quotations on the international exchanges are continuously dropping. 

 The crude oil Brent price, the reference one on the international markets, has decreased by over 20 per cent in the last three months against the June 2014 price. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates a drop of the price in continuation, given that both the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the producing countries OPEC non-members increased their output. At the same time, the prices at the Rotterdam petrol and diesel exchange, named Platts quotations, on which the cost of imports and the pump prices depend, have decreased by 14 per cent, and for diesel oil – by 12.5 per cent.