Monopoly in the fuel market will not allow reducing the fuel prices in Armenia despite the trends in the global petroleum market, Vardan Bostanjyan, PhD in Economics, economist, told ArmInfo.
"An insignificant reduction of prices has been observed lately, which is not connected with the global trends, however. It is rather the result of the 'good will' of the monopolists," he said. Bostanjyan said the government can regulate the fuel price, but prefers to stay aside in view of some reasons and, perhaps, its unwillingness. "The government is unable to influence the monopolist-companies in the fuel market," Bostanjyan said.
Earlier, Aram Sargsyan, the leader of the Democratic Party of Armenia, submitted a letter to the prime minister demanding to regulate the prices in the fuel market. In his words, the fuel price fell from $115 to $45-$50 per barrel, but the petrol price in Armenia was left at 430-500AMD, while it should have been reduced to 250-300AMD.
By official statistics, the petrol prices in Armenia fell 2% in July 2014 versus the previous month, with the diesel price falling by 1.8 %.