Jump in crude oil prices to blame
South Korea's energy imports are expected to exceed a record 80 billion USD this year, mainly due to a huge jump in crude oil prices, the government forecast. According to the Korea Customs Service (KCS), imports of crude oil, natural gas, and fossil fuels have grown 43.2 percent to 42 billion USD in the first half of this year."If the current crude oil prices stay high, the total import of energy will likely exceed 80 billion USD this year for the first time in history," the KCS said. During the first six months of this year, South Korea imported 58.63 million tons - or 26.9 billion USD - worth of crude oil, up 44.5 percent from the same period of last year. Coal imports also saw an increase of 10.7 percent compared with a year earlier, to reach 2.74 billion USD. The KCS said that the amount of energy imported has been on the rise steadily since 2000, but the money spent on energy imports has grown by over 30 percent year on year, affected by a rise in crude oil prices. Energy imports also saw an increase in their percentage of the nation's total imports, according to the KCS. During the first half of last year, the amount of energy imported compared to total imports was 23.7 percent, with the energy imports estimated at 29.4 billion USD. The amount jumped to 28.3 percent in the first half of this year, with its worth reaching 42 billion USD, compared with 148.5 billion USD in total imports. "The rising prices of raw materials, which began last year, along with Israel's attack on Lebanon, Iran's nuclear issue, and disrupted energy supplies from Nigeria will likely put upward pressure on oil prices," a KCS official said. Meanwhile, the price of gasoline and diesel fuel at the local pumps stood at 1545.67 and 1298.98 won (1.60 and 1.30 USD) per litter, respectively, in the fourth week of July, according to industry sources.
