The Finance Ministry has decided to raise its oil export duty from the current 212.6 U.S. dollars to 222 dollars per ton starting Aug. 1, RIA Novosti reported Wednesday.

Duty on light petroleum products will rise to 161.9 dollars per ton and to 87.2 dollars for heavy petroleum products, said Alexander Sakovich, deputy head of the ministry's customs department.

The average oil price was 65.65 dollars per ton from June 15 to July 14, he said.

The Russian government has set duties for oil and oil products monthly since last December, in order to respond swiftly to fluctuations in world oil prices. Previously the duties were adjusted every two months.

Russia last year exported 222 million tons of oil, down seven percent compared to 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2009)