Gas Price Soars to 1584.83 KRW Per Liter in Seoul

The soaring prices of international crude oil have driven average retail diesel prices to a record high and pushed up retail gasoline prices for two consecutive weeks.

Based on a survey of 980 gas stations across the country, retail unleaded gasoline prices nationwide averaged 1545.65 won per liter in the third week of this month (Sept. 17-21), according to the Korea National Oil Corporation on Friday.

Gas prices, which showed a downward trend in the fourth week of July, have now gone up for two straight weeks.

By region, the gas prices in Seoul were the most expensive at 1584.83 per liter, followed by Daejeon (1559.86 won), Ulsan (1557.00 won) and Gwangju (1554.50 won). In particular, Gwangju and North Jeolla Province (1548.33 won), South Jeolla Province (1546.05 won) and Jeju (1539.00) saw a rise of 14.37 to 21.83 won per liter this week compared to the previous week, which is 8.43 won higher than the national average.

Diesel prices surged to a record high of 1308.27 per liter, up 18.65. The price of kerosene for indoor use and for heating climbed to 939.48 won and 947.08 won per liter, respectively, up 11.23 and 12.93 won compared to the preceding week.

“It generally takes one or two weeks before changes in international oil prices affect the domestic market. Since the international oil prices have been continuously on the rise since the end of August, repeatedly hitting a new high, domestic oil prices are forecast to remain strong for a while,” said an official of the KNOC on Friday.

The spot market price of Dubai crude traded on Friday was $76.07 per barrel, up $0.98 from the previous day, reaching a new high for four consecutive days.

The KNOC forecasts that international crude oil prices will show a rising trend for some time due to the current oil shortage in the U.S., OPEC’s skeptical response to increasing the production of crude, and damage inflicted to crude production plants due to a hurricane.

cha@donga.com