MOSCOW, July 12 Reuters Russia39;s Federal Antimonopoly Agency FAS wants to reinstate a gasoline export ban from Aug. 1 to help meet fuel demand during harvesting season and safeguard price stability, the agency said on Friday.

Russia initially partially banned gasoline exports for six months from March 1, but exempted a Moscowled economic union and some countries with which it has direct intergovernmental agreements on fuel supplies, such as Mongolia.

The ban was introduced to preempt fuel shortages and stem a rise in prices after a spate of Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries and technical outages. The restrictions were suspended in May until June 30 and that suspension was then extended until the end of July.

FAS said it supported a return to the ban on gasoline exports from Aug. 1. The government, with input from FAS, is due to take a decision on whether to reintroduce the ban by July 31.

The office of Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and the energy ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Restrictions on fuel exports will help saturate the domestic market during the period of increased demand, including that linked to harvest and scheduled repairs of oil refineries, as well as ensure price stability and availability of fuel for all categories of consumers, FAS said in a statement.

Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Additional reporting by Olesya Astakhova; Editing by Mark Potter

Source Reuters