A gallon of gas at gas stations in Kentucky (southeastern United States) now costs under $1, Business Insider reports.
This makes 1 liter of fuel around RUR 20 (25 cents), even despite the US dollar going up against RUR. Gas now costs about the same as bottled water at the same gas stations, the news website notes.
In Russia, gas is at least twice as expensive as 95-octane fuel costs around RUR 45 (56 cents). President Vladimir Putin pointed out to ministers that 92-octane fuel has gone up by over 10% in the past year, even despite the oil price falling more than 50%. This Monday “black gold” once again dropped 8% to almost $25 per barrel.
Fuel industry representatives note that in Russia the oil price counts towards less than 10% of the gas price. Therefore, cheapening oil can hardly lead to lower car fuel rates. Experts have also complained about alleged monopoly in the market which is also not helping to bring the prices down.
It should be noted that in the United States, the gas prices vary significantly depending on the state and the gap can be much higher than between Russian regions.