Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
After enjoying some 20 consecutive weeks of declining fuel prices, the honeymoon is over.
Gas prices across the country have shot back up in the past two weeks, and it's leaving
many consumers concerned.
Our Paul Yi breaks down the numbers. It was only last spring that gas prices soared to
over 2-thousand won, or nearly 1-dollar-90-cents a liter, leaving many motorists to cringe
at the thought of heading to the gas station.
Now a new spike in fuel costs is causing another series of headaches at the pump.
"After going up and down, it's going up again. Yeah, it's now 19-hundred won a liter, but
it could soon go over 2-thousand won. I'm really worried about it."
"Even though the price of gas hasn't increased that much now, I'm concerned about the future."
Earlier this month, the price of a liter of gas hit a 20-week low of 1,920 won, or about
1-dollar-77-cents.
However, in the span of just nine days, the average price of gas ticked up to more than
1,940 won, or 1-dollar-79 cents per liter.
It's a sudden jump in prices that's not sitting well with the public, as they fear the slowly
earned reductions this past year will disappear.
One of the primary reasons for higher gas prices is rising international crude oil costs.
It's a cause and effect scenario, with the cost of Dubai crude oil increasing to over
112 dollars per barrel, in the last month.
But looking ahead, that's just one piece of the puzzle.
The Korea-U.S. exchange rate also plays an important role in calculating the price of
gas.
This past month, Korea had been experiencing a stronger currency which helped bring down
the cost of gas to consumers.
However, that trend appears to be going south and along with it, chances of returning to
cheaper gas prices.
"International cruid oil prices have already surpassed 110 dollars and currency rates are
falling. These factors are likely to raise domestic oil prices for the time being. If
the exchange continues to fluctuate, it's expected to place a significant burden on
domestic oil prices."
Typically it takes three to four weeks for prices at the gas station to accurately reflect
changes in global oil markets .
Meaning... it's expected that people's wallets will be feeling increasingly lighter as they
fill up their tanks in the coming weeks.
Paul Yi, Arirang News