Gasoline Prices Rise for 4 Consecutive Weeks... Up 24.2 Won This Week Alone

National Average Price per Liter: 1,691.8 Won

As international oil prices rose to around $90 per barrel, the highest in seven years, domestic gasoline prices recorded an upward trend for 25 consecutive days. On the 6th, the gasoline price at a gas station in downtown Seoul showed a level in the 2,000 won range. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Gasoline prices at gas stations nationwide have continued to rise for four consecutive weeks due to the recent surge in international oil prices.

According to the Korea National Oil Corporation's oil price information site Opinet on the 12th, the retail gasoline price at gas stations in the second week of this month was 1,691.8 KRW per liter, up 24.2 KRW from the previous week. Due to the recent surge in international oil prices, prices have been rising continuously since the third week of last month. The weekly price increase was in the 10 KRW range at 10.1 KRW, 18.9 KRW, and 15.2 KRW until last week, but expanded to 24.2 KRW this week. After reaching a seven-year high of 1,807.0 KRW per liter in November last year, the price fell for nine consecutive weeks following the government's fuel tax reduction but has now returned to an upward trend.

This week, the highest price nationwide was recorded in Jeju-do at 1,774.0 KRW per liter. Seoul was recorded at 1,775.8 KRW per liter as of the previous afternoon. The lowest price nationwide was in Busan, where gasoline was priced at 1,662.5 KRW per liter. The nationwide diesel price at gas stations also rose by 25.2 KRW from the previous week to 1,511.2 KRW per liter. By brand, GS Caltex gasoline was the most expensive at 1,700.7 KRW per liter, while budget gas stations were the cheapest at 1,655.2 KRW per liter.

International oil prices had formed a bottom until early December last year but began to surge from the end of the year due to geopolitical factors, recently reaching the highest level in 7 years and 3 months since October 2014. Accordingly, the domestic fuel price is expected to continue rising. The average price of Dubai crude oil, which serves as the benchmark for domestic imported crude, was 90.3 dollars per barrel this week, up 1.6 dollars from the previous week, breaking the 90-dollar mark. The international gasoline average price, which surpassed 100 dollars last week, rose by 2.3 dollars this week to 105.8 dollars per barrel.

An official from the Korea National Oil Corporation explained, "International oil prices are rising due to factors such as a decrease in U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, expected increases in oil demand by OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), and ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine."

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