During the first nine days of January, the average price of gasoline in Russia showed a slight retreat of 0.02 percent, while diesel fuel edged higher by 0.49 percent. These figures come from the press service of Rosstat, the federal statistics agency. By January 9, the national average price for a liter of gasoline stood at 50.83 rubles. AI-92 was priced at 47.18 rubles per liter, AI-95 at 51.34 rubles, AI-98 at 61.61 rubles, and diesel at 58.70 rubles per liter.
Across the country, the price per liter moved in ten regional points from January 1 to January 9. The most notable rise reached 0.5 percent in the Sakhalin region, while the largest decrease occurred in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, where prices fell by about 2 percent. In Moscow and Saint Petersburg, fuel prices did not change during the New Year holidays, providing a temporary neutral period for urban consumers.
Earlier in December, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated that the country could sustain incremental fuel price growth through the year 2022. This forecast framed the backdrop for consumer expectations as the new year began, with market participants watching regulatory signals and regional differences in pricing across major centers.
On January 11, Bloomberg cited analysis from the Helsinki Energy and Climate Research Centre (CREA), noting a daily economic impact tied to Western price caps on Russian crude oil shipped by sea. The centre estimated a daily loss of around 160 million euros, roughly 172 million US dollars, associated with a price threshold near sixty dollars per barrel. The report framed the discussion around global price controls and their implications for supply chains, shipping costs, and regional markets in North America and Europe, while highlighting how policy levers abroad can ripple through energy markets at a global scale.
Taken together, the Rosstat data and international analyses illustrate a year-start pattern where regional price movements in Russia reflect local demand, transport costs, and seasonal factors, even as broader geopolitical dynamics influence the global oil and fuel environment. For Canadian and American readers, the takeaway is that price trends in large economies can diverge from the national picture due to local taxation, processing margins, and regional competition, yet the broader signals from Rosstat and international research offer insight into how fuel markets respond to regulatory cues and supply constraints. The January snapshot underscores the importance of monitoring both domestic statistics and international policy developments to understand what drives changes in gasoline and diesel prices across major markets.