OREANDA-NEWS. December 18, 2009. According to Gazpromsbyt Ukraine CEO Mr. A. Podmyshalsky, the selling price for natural gas in 1Q2010 will be \\$300-310 for one thousand cubic meters. Earlier, the prices for gas were estimated at a level of \\$280 for one thousand cubic meters. The main reason of the final natural gas price growth was a price hike for Brent Oil. We would like to emphasize that after all tax collection payout, the price for natural gas will reach \\$390-405 for a thousand cubic meters for municipal utilities and manufacturing companies. Besides, chemical and mining companies (accounting for up to 40% of imported gas consumption) will be paying less, at about \\$300 for a thousand cubic meters.

Millennium Capital sees this news as negative for local domestic companies in the chemical industry because natural gas occupies no less than 60% in their COS. At the same time, metallurgical companies consume a smaller amount of natural gas (3-10% in their COS), that is why they are less vulnerable.