Global Oil Prices Drop, But When Will Gas Station Prices Follow?

[Anchor]

This is the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures traded in New York. While it stood at $62 per barrel in early February, it surged following the outbreak of war between the United States and Iran. On April 7, when President Trump stated that he would devastate Iran's infrastructure, prices nearly doubled. Fortunately, with the peace agreement, oil prices have fallen back to $80. However, it is expected to take some time for domestic consumers to fully feel the impact of this decline.

Reporter Park Jaehyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

Following the U.S.-Iran war, airline fuel surcharges, which immediately reflect oil price trends, soared to record highs.

[Yoo Young-jun/Outbound Traveler: I bought a plane ticket for 600,000 won, but it was canceled in March. I ended up paying an additional 400,000 won to rebook because I had already reserved a resort.]

Since last month, when peace negotiations became visible, international oil prices have gradually stabilized.

As a result, fuel surcharges, which were lowered once this month, will be reduced by another 20% for tickets issued starting next month.

For Korean Air, this means a reduction of 15,100 won for short-haul one-way flights and 107,500 won for the longest routes.

However, consumers are still feeling the burden of high fuel prices, with both gasoline and diesel prices at gas stations nationwide exceeding 2,000 won per liter.

It takes at least two to three weeks for international oil prices to be reflected in consumer prices due to the processes of transportation, refining, and distribution.

There are also concerns that gas stations will be slower to lower prices than they were to raise them, citing the need to clear out expensive inventory.

[Kim Hae-beom/Yangcheon-gu, Seoul: Fuel prices have risen so much that I even considered switching to a smaller car; the impact is severe. They say it takes a long time to actually feel the effects even when international oil prices drop.]

With recovery of damaged oil facilities expected to take time and countries rushing to secure strategic reserves, the prevailing outlook is that oil prices will not fall much further for the time being.

[Kim Tae-hwan/Head of Oil Policy Research, Korea Energy Economics Institute: From May to September, there is high demand, and with the need to replenish refinery inventories and the demand for strategic reserves from various countries, even if the strait opens immediately, demand remains very robust during this period.]

The government plans to announce the 7th maximum petroleum price on Thursday (the 18th) after comprehensively reviewing the contents of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding on ending the war, the situation regarding passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and international oil prices.

(Video reporting: Park Hyun-cheol | Video editing: Kim Yoon-sung | Graphics: Kim Han-gil, Park Tae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.