Daily Insight-GenCos privatisation news; Russian gas pricing for Ukraine; steel news; NBU bond, liquidity data

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at the meeting yesterday with Ukrainian PM Mykola Azarov that he will task his deputy to look into Ukraine\'s arguments for the justification for a lower price for natural gas. The existing price was set in the notorious gas contract that was signed under pressure by then-Prime Minister of Ukraine Yulia Tymoshenko, according to a statement made by Ukraine\'s PM yesterday after his meeting with the Russian PM. Under that gas import contract, which is still in force now, Ukraine has to pay the price which is being recalculated quarterly on the basis of the price for gas/oil and black oil on the world market. As a result of continuously rising global prices for oil, Ukraine\'s price for Russian gas rises every quarter, has recently become a heavy burden for its energy-inefficient economy, and seriously deteriorates Ukraine\'s current account. Even though Ukraine in April 2010 received from Russia a discount of US$100 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas (in exchange for the prolongation for 25 years of Russia\'s renting of the lack Sea Fleet base located in Ukraine), the contract gas price has still been hiking up very fast: from US$232.86 in 2Q10 to US$248.72 in 3Q10, US$252 in 4Q10, and up to US$264 in 1Q11; the average price for 2011 is seen to climb to around US$300bn.