MOSCOW, May 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will raise oil export duty by $44.2, to $200.6 per metric ton, a Finance Ministry official said Wednesday.
The duty has been raised for the first time in the past six months.
On April 1, export duty was cut by $23.3 to $156.4 per metric ton, reflecting a decline in oil prices that began late last year and continued into 2007.
Alexander Sakovich, deputy head of the ministry's tax and customs policy department, said the oil export duty is adjusted every two months and is based on Russian Urals oil blend prices on world markets.
