On Friday the Russian Energy Ministry announced that it has lifted the restrictions it had imposed on gasoline exports. The announcement came shortly after the government lifted a similar restriction it has imposed on the sales of diesel fuel abroad.

The ministry added it was able to make the move after inventories showed a surplus of supply, and wholesale prices declined. It noted however that if conditions called for it, it could reimpose the restrictions as necessary.

The ministry said, “Over the past two months, while maintaining high volumes of oil refining …, saturation of the domestic market has been ensured, and a surplus in the supply of motor gasoline has been created, including in the exchange sales channel.”

In September, after local shortages prompted a spike in domestic wholesale fuel prices, Russia placed almost a complete ban on the export of both diesel and gasoline. As the world’s biggest seaborne exporter of diesel, the export ban triggered a surge in prices on the global market, which had already tightened in response to supply cuts put into effect by Russia and Saudi Arabia earlier in the year.

The ban was effective, however, in bringing Russia’s domestic fuel prices back under control. The government had already begun to relax the restrictions last month when it allowed the export of diesel by pipeline.