In February, prices for petroleum products may rise in Ukraine. This is the opinion of market participants. Experts of OJSC "Galnaftogaz" assume that fuel prices may increase by an average of 3%-5% by the end of the month. \n \nThe company's press service emphasized that the main factor in price growth will be the rise in oil prices in the world and on the domestic market of Russia. Executive Director of the consulting company UPECO Serhiy Kuyun said that after some decline in January, in February retail prices on the market will return to the December level. \n \nAccording to him, at the end of January there was already an increase in wholesale prices for gasoline and diesel fuel by 5-6%, and the cost of oil at the beginning of February increased compared to January from $210 to $245 per tonne. "Further growth at the moment looks problematic, since the new prices are still significantly higher than export prices, and demand on the market remains low," noted Kuyun. \n \nAmong the factors of price growth, experts also name the departure from the Ukrainian petroleum products market of the so-called "intermediary" companies that provided preferential imports of oil and petroleum products, therefore the price of petroleum products will now include value added tax (VAT) on oil. \n\n"Ukrainian VAT on oil may appear in the price structure, which will lead to an additional increase in price, the total volume of which compared to January may amount to $70, or almost 30%," said Kuyun. \n\nExperts of "Galnaftogaz" emphasize that the price growth will be facilitated by the seasonal increase in sales of petroleum products in February. \n\nCommenting on the impact of Russia's reduction of the export duty, Kuyun said: "It is still difficult to speak about the impact of the export duty, since in different periods this impact is different and depends on a mass of factors, both in Russia and in the world. For example, the December increase of the duty to $100 per tonne played in favor of Ukraine, since it caused a decrease in prices on the Russian market, from where Ukrainian refineries draw resources. In February, despite the reduction of the export duty, we see an increase in prices on the domestic market of Russia, which follows the rise in oil prices in the world." \n\nRetail prices for petroleum products in Ukraine in the period from January 17 to 21 decreased by an average of UAH 0.01, diesel fuel became cheaper by 0.7%, or by UAH 0.02, to UAH 2.74 per liter. \n\nBased on ForUm materials. \n