KIEV, June 5 (Reuters) - Ukraine will order state energy firm Naftogaz to reduce household gas prices for the next two months, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said on Wednesday, citing a fall in import prices.
The International Monetary Fund, Ukraine's major lender, has repeatedly urged Kiev to raise gas prices to market rates, making this a condition of future financial aid for the country.
The government raised gas prices by nearly a quarter in October, allowing it to secure a new $3.9 billion stand-by aid agreement with the IMF.
"When import prices are decreasing it means that prices for domestic consumers must also decrease," Groysman told a government meeting, adding that Naftogaz set prices above the market level.
Groysman said the gas price for June must be set at 8,000 hryvnias per 1,000 cubic meters compared with the 8,800 hryvnias set by Naftogaz. In July, the price must decrease to 7,700 hryvnias, he added.
Gas prices are a sensitive issue in a country where a large part of the population lives on the verge of poverty. Earlier this year Groysman urged the government and Naftogaz to start talks with the IMF to try and prevent any future rise in household gas tariffs.
Ukraine consumed 32.3 bcm of gas in 2018 and imported 10.6 bcm.
Ukraine used to fill its gas requirement with imports from Russia but has not bought gas directly from the country since November 2015, the result of souring relations between Kiev and Moscow after Russia annexed of Crimea in 2014.
Kiev now imports gas from Europe. ($=27.2069 hryvnias) (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)