Avg. Seoul Gas Price Breaks W1,800 Mark

The average gasoline price in Seoul has broken the 1,800 won (1.62 U.S. dollars) per liter mark for the first time in 18 months.

Opinet, a Web site run by Korea National Oil Corp. to provide information on gas prices, said yesterday that the average price of gas at the pump in Seoul was 1,801.04 won (1.62 dollars) a liter Thursday, the highest since 1,801.57 won on May 2, 2008. The price hit a record high of 2,027.79 won (1.82 dollars) on July 13, 2008, but fell to 1,804.12 (1.62 dollars) on Oct. 8 the same year and eventually went under the 1,800-won mark.

The average gas price was highest in the Gangnam district of southern Seoul at 1,887.10 won (1.70 dollars) as of Thursday. The Jungnang district of northern Seoul had the lowest average of 1,734.68 won (1.56 dollars). Among gas stations, Gyeongil Gas Station in Seoul’s Yeouido district had the highest price of 1,998 won (1.80 dollars) per liter. By region, Seoul had the highest average gas prices and North Gyeongsang Province the lowest with an average 1,713.28 won (1.54 dollars).

Pump prices are expected to stay high for the time being because international oil prices are on an upward trajectory. The spot price for the Dubai crude, the benchmark for domestic oil prices, reached a yearly high of 84.41 U.S. dollars Thursday, up 0.39 percent from Wednesday. The prices of other international oil were mixed.

Industry experts say the continued rise in international oil prices this month will likely result in higher gas prices in Korea for the time being.

Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Kyung-hwan also told a cable TV talk show that the government will consider linking gas prices to oil costs in the second half of this year or later considering the speed of economic recovery.

firedy@donga.com