MOSCOW, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Russia on Wednesday said that Russian domestic oil prices may remain elevated in the near term and then decline gradually, according to a policy summary published on its website.
In the "Summary of the Key Rate Discussion," the central bank noted that inventory drawdowns amid ongoing geopolitical conflicts could delay the oil market's transition to a surplus. Most participants in the discussion agreed that oil prices would likely remain high in the short term and ease slowly.
However, some participants expected a quicker decline in oil prices. Elevated prices in the preceding period had driven the expansion of production capacity and boosted oil supply in other regions, allowing depleted inventories to be replenished faster than expected, according to the bank.
