韩国将汽柴油煤油价格上限再延长四周，炼油商补偿结算继续拖延

The South Korean government said it will extend its price cap on gasoline, diesel and kerosene for another four weeks through next month, keeping in place a control mechanism that has now run for more than six months since it was first introduced in March.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on the 21st that the ninth round of oil price caps, effective for the next four weeks, will be frozen at the eighth-round levels of 1,784 won per liter for gasoline, 1,773 won for diesel and 1,380 won for kerosene. The caps apply from midnight on the 22nd through midnight on September 18. The ministry first introduced the price cap on March 13 in response to a spike in international crude prices immediately after the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war, meaning that price controls on petroleum products have been in place for more than half a year.
The government decided to maintain the cap because geopolitical instability stemming from the Middle East is increasingly likely to persist. A ministry official said the 60-day term of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on ending the war, reached between the United States and Iran, has expired without meaningful progress, leaving only renewed uncertainty. "Because there is no telling when or how factors that could jolt international oil prices might arise, it is not easy to end the price cap," the official said.
International oil prices, which had fallen to the $70-per-barrel range in early August on hopes for an end to the war, have been climbing back toward around $90 per barrel. Brent crude, which stood at $82.5 per barrel on the 6th, rose to $87.1 on the 13th and $93.8 on the 20th. Dubai crude also rose over the same period, from $77.44 to $95.6 per barrel.
The prolonged price controls are deepening the government's dilemma. In principle, controlling market prices is undesirable, but with uncertainty still lingering, officials cannot hastily terminate the program either. "We initially introduced the price cap with a comfortable margin, planning for around six months," a government official said. "The stalemate is dragging on longer than expected."
Meanwhile, compensating refiners for losses caused by the price cap is expected to take longer than initially anticipated. The ministry finished forming a settlement committee to review and verify compensation amounts late last month and is carrying out the process for losses incurred between March 13 and June 30. "It is taking a little more time to receive the companies' data," a ministry official said.