This Week's Gasoline Price per Liter 1,940 Won... Slight Drop Due to 'Fuel Tax Reduction' Effect

First Week of Expanded Fuel Tax Reduction
Down 27.5 Won Compared to Last Week

A notice related to the expansion of the fuel tax reduction rate from the current 20% to 30% is posted at a directly operated gas station in Seoul on the 1st. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Following the government's expanded fuel tax reduction measures, domestic gasoline prices at gas stations turned to a downward trend this week.

According to the Korea National Oil Corporation's oil price information service Opinet on the 7th, the average gasoline selling price at gas stations nationwide during the first week of May (1st to 5th) was 1,940.7 KRW per liter, down 27.5 KRW from the previous week.

The most expensive region, Seoul, recorded an average gasoline price this week of 1,988.0 KRW per liter, down 44.2 KRW from the previous week, while Daegu, the lowest-priced region, saw a decrease of 35.1 KRW to 1,912.4 KRW per liter compared to the previous week.

By brand, SK Energy gas stations were the most expensive with an average of 1,953.1 KRW per liter, while discount gas stations were the cheapest at 1,883.4 KRW.

The nationwide average diesel price also fell by 0.8 KRW to 1,906.9 KRW compared to the previous week.

The reason for the price decline in gasoline and diesel is due to the government's expanded fuel tax reduction measures implemented from the 1st. With the fuel tax reduction rate on petroleum products increasing from 20% to 30%, gasoline saw an additional reduction effect of 83 KRW per liter, and diesel 58 KRW per liter. There is usually about a two-week lag before the fuel tax reduction is reflected in actual gas station prices, but refiners cooperated with the government policy by immediately applying the tax reduction to about 760 directly operated gas stations nationwide.

However, most independent gas stations, which make up the majority of gas stations, are expected to lower prices only after exhausting inventory supplied before the additional fuel tax reduction, so it may take some time before the additional tax reduction effect appears.

Meanwhile, international oil prices this week have been rising due to discussions in the European Union (EU) on plans to ban Russian oil imports and OPEC Plus's decision to maintain production increase levels. Dubai crude, the benchmark for imported crude oil in Korea, rose by 3.6 dollars from the previous week to 105.7 dollars per barrel, and the international average gasoline price increased by 11.1 dollars to 137.0 dollars per barrel compared to the previous week.

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