MOSCOW, April 7 - The 80% increase in the price Russia charges Ukraine for gas has not caused a substantial reduction in buying by Naftogaz Ukrainy, according to data from Russia's Central Dispatching Department of the Fuel and Energy Complex (CDU TEK).

Ukraine imported an average of 82 million cubic meters of Russian gas a day in the first five days of April, including 92 million cubic meters on April 1 and 77.5 million cubic meters on April 5, CDU TEK said. Ukraine purchased 62.5 million cubic meters a day on average in March, including 88.7 million cubic meters on average in the final 10 days of the month.

If Ukraine continues buying at the current pace, it might import 2.3 billion cubic meters of Russia gas worth $1.1 billion in April.