Russia to keep importing gasoline through at least end of 2026, Novak says

Russian companies will keep importing gasoline through at least the end of 2026 to supply domestic demand and restore fuel inventories, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at Russian Energy Week on October 15. Interfax reported that he described foreign gasoline supplies as stable and put them at approximately 10% of domestic consumption. He did not disclose the exact quantities being imported. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]

Novak said Russia needed both to supply its domestic market and increase stocks that had been reduced over the summer to keep that market supplied. Kommersant quoted him as saying imports would continue until at least the end of the year. Vedomosti also reported that replenishing inventories was among the reasons Russian companies would continue bringing in gasoline from abroad. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]

Interfax recalled that Russia began importing petroleum products at the start of summer. Amendments to the Tax Code extended the fuel price-damper mechanism to imported supplies, the outlet reported. It said the mechanism had applied to imported gasoline since June 1 and to diesel fuel since July 1. Kommersant separately reported that gasoline imports and increased refinery productivity had helped balance fuel supply and demand. [ 3 , 5 ]

Vedomosti placed the announcement alongside the Bank of Russia's fuel-market outlook. The newspaper reported that on September 30 it became known that the central bank's baseline scenario anticipated the fuel market returning to normal by the end of 2026. The regulator expected the effect on other goods and services prices to be limited, and forecast that underlying inflation would resume declining after the market stabilised. [ 4 ]