Russia’s jet fuel muffler will halve in May/April, Reuters estimates

MOSCOW, May 19 (Reuters) – The value of May’s jet fuel shock absorber, a tax credit partially offsetting fuel costs for Russian airlines, could fall by 4,660 rubles a ton (-49.2%) from April’s value to 4,810 rubles a ton, preliminary data showed Reuters calculations. The calculation, taking into account European aviation fuel prices and the exchange rate of the ruble to the US dollar for the period from 1 to 19 May, gives an initial value of the state subsidy of 3,724 rubles per tonne, and taking into account the data extrapolated to the end of this month – up to 4,810 rubles per tonne, which will be the lowest value since December 2021. The two-fold decrease in kerosene was caused by a decrease in aviation gasoline prices in May compared to April by an average of USD 69 per tonne (-8.7%) and a slight strengthening of the ruble against the US dollar. Taking into account the reversed excise duty on jet fuel, the total amount of fuel compensation for air carriers for May will be only RUB 7,835 per tonne, compared to RUB 12,495 per tonne in April. The average wholesale price of jet fuel on the Saint Petersburg International Commodity Exchange (SPIMEX) rose to RUB 65,755 per tonne in May from RUB 64,863 per tonne in April. Thus, the total amount of state subsidies for the target consumers of aviation fuel, related to the wholesale price of fuel, will decrease to 12% in May from 19% in April. The kerosene price compensation mechanism for Russian air carriers, created in 2019, was launched in September last year. National currency. Below the values ​​of shock absorbers for aviation gasoline from September 2021: Period Shock absorber for kerosene, RUB/t 2021 Sep 450 Oct 5,385 Nov 3,879 Dec 1,888 2022 Jan 9,004 Feb 14,242 Mar 56,425 Apr 34,509 May 25,418 Jun 23.8 18 July 13 August 25 13,663 September 10,702 October 13.153 November 10.115 December 7.924 2023 January 14.604 February 10.275 March 8.242 April 9.471 May* 4.810 * – provisional calculation for 21 days in April