Russia’s flagship Urals crude oil blend traded at $81.52 per barrel on average in October, down from $83.30 in September, the Russian Finance Ministry said on Monday, still comfortably above a price cap set by the West.

The ministry also said the Urals price averaged $61.84 per barrel in January-October, down from $79.57 in the same period last year.

The Russian state budget, which relies heavily on revenues from oil and gas, is based on an average Urals price of $70.1 per barrel for 2023.

Urals has since July been trading above the price cap of $60 per barrel set in December 2022 by the European Union, Group of Seven countries and Australia in an attempt to curb Russia’s oil sales and so its ability to finance the conflict in Ukraine.

The Finance Ministry put the average price of the international benchmark blend, North Sea Dated (Brent) LCOc1, at $91.09 in October, meaning the Urals URL-E discount narrowed last month to around $9.6 per barrel from $10.9 in September.
Source: Reuters (Writing by Felix Light; Editing by Kevin Liffey)