Dubai Oil Price Sets New High

The Dubai Oil price set a record high on Thursday, exceeding the $45 mark for the first time. Dubai Oil was traded at $45.47 in international oil markets, up $1.14 from the previous day.

The price was $2.19 higher than last week`s average price and a stunning $5.56 higher than that of last month.

Dubai Oil accounts for 78.1 percent of South Korea`s total oil import volume and 76.9 percent of the country`s total spending on oil.

Brent Oil was traded at $54.22 yesterday, $1.04 higher than the previous day, and surpassed $54 for the first time since the spot trading system was introduced. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), however, remained at the same as yesterday at 54.61.

In the futures market, NYMEX`s WTI and IPE`s Brent Oil for April was traded at $54.77 and $53.38, up $0.18 and $0.54, respectively.

According to the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC), the recent oil rally was due to a decrease in the U.S.’s stockpile of oil-related products, continued cold weather in the U.S. Northeast, and the news of operation suspension at ExxonMobil`s refinery facility in Louisiana.

Chang-Won Kim changkim@donga.com