TNK-BP lowers fuel prices

MOSCOW, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Russian oil company TNK-BP became the third such firm in the country to transfer the decline in world energy prices onto its consumers Wednesday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev this week lent his voice to a growing chorus of officials, including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who raised concerns over soaring fuel prices amid the declining price of oil on the world market.

Crude was trading below $68 per barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

LUKoil, the largest oil company in the country, said Tuesday it would lower its prices by around 9 percent, following trends set by majors Gazprom Neft and Alliance.

TNK-BP said Wednesday it plans to lower the price of petrol at its fueling stations by about 11 cents per gallon, Russian daily Kommersant reported. The price translates to roughly a 4 percent reduction.

The decline in fuel prices follows warnings from the Russian Federal Anti-monopoly Service regarding fuel prices, prompting First Deputy Premier Igor Shuvalov to call for a new price formula.

Gazprom and LUKoil were slapped with more than $730,000 in fines in September for market manipulation.