Gazprom has decided to lower the price of gas for Kyrgyzstan from $165 to $150 per 1,000 cubic metres starting from “the second quarter of 2016” at Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev’s request, according to a statement on the president’s website from April 1, citing the president’s conversation with the chairman of Gazprom’s management committee, Aleksey Miller.
The reasons behind Gazprom’s decision are unclear. However, they could be related to the recent appreciation of the Kyrgyz som against the dollar, as the country receives gas through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at prices set in dollars so a change in exchange rate leads to a change in the som price of gas. The Kyrgyz national currency appreciated by 7.8% to KGS70.01 against the dollar between December 31 and March 31, according to figures by the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Earlier, Gazprom's Kyrgyz branch raised gas tariffs for the country’s population by 17.84% y/y, according to a report by news agency Tazabek from March 12.
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