Government Conducts Emergency Inspection of Oil Market Amid Soaring Oil Prices

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] As international oil prices have surged recently, the government convened an emergency meeting to assess the impact on the domestic oil market.

On the 8th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held an 'Emergency Oil Market Inspection Meeting' chaired by Ju Youngjun, Director General of the Energy Resources Office, with the Korea Petroleum Association, the four major refiners, the Korea Energy Economics Institute, the Korea National Oil Corporation, and the Petroleum Management Service in attendance.

International oil prices soared after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the non-OPEC major oil-producing countries, including Russia, collectively known as 'OPEC Plus (OPEC+),' failed to hold a scheduled meeting to increase oil production. The international benchmark Brent crude oil price rose to $77.16 per barrel on the 5th, marking the highest level in about three years since October 2018.

Participants from the Korea Energy Economics Institute and the Korea National Oil Corporation at the meeting assessed that the uncertainty in international oil prices remains high due to the cancellation of the third OPEC+ meeting. However, considering international circumstances such as U.S. mediation and cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Russia, they forecast a high probability that international oil prices will remain stable through a smooth agreement in the future.

Domestic gasoline prices have risen consecutively for nine weeks, exceeding pre-COVID levels, indicating a short-term strong trend. However, factors such as the easing of OPEC+ production cuts are expected to play a major role going forward. The price of gasoline at domestic gas stations increased from 1,534.3 KRW per liter in the first week of May to 1,601 KRW per liter in the last week of the previous month.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated that since international oil prices have remained high compared to the beginning of the year and there has been no official announcement regarding the next OPEC+ meeting, volatility in international oil prices is significant. Therefore, it plans to strengthen cooperation with industry and related organizations. Through this, it will continuously monitor domestic crude oil supply and petroleum product price trends and conduct special inspections to prevent profiteering such as hoarding that exploits high oil prices.

Furthermore, it urged the refining industry to make efforts to minimize the impact of instability in the international oil market on the domestic oil market and consumer prices.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.