The government will freeze the domestic maximum prices of petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, and kerosene, for an additional four weeks.

This decision places priority on easing the burden of fuel costs for ordinary households, even as international oil prices have once again surged back into the 100-dollar range per barrel due to worsening conditions in the Middle East.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced today that "the 10th maximum oil prices, which will take effect starting at midnight tomorrow for the next four weeks, will be frozen at the levels of the previous 9th maximum prices."

Accordingly, the 10th maximum prices will be maintained at 1,784 won per liter for gasoline, 1,773 won for diesel, and 1,380 won for kerosene, matching the 7th through 9th rounds.

Following the 150 won per liter cut in the 7th maximum prices at the end of June, the same price levels will continue through September, following July and August.

International oil prices fluctuated as the conflict between the United States and Iran, which showed a temporary lull in August, flared up again in September, and Houthi rebels occupied cities near the Red Sea region.

As of September 16, Dubai crude soared to 128.0 dollars per barrel, Brent crude to 105.8 dollars, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to 102.4 dollars.

International petroleum product prices also surged in tandem, with international diesel prices reaching 201 dollars per barrel.

Despite this surge in oil prices, the government decided to freeze the maximum prices, placing weight on stabilizing public livelihoods.

This is because recent inflation trends have been alarming.

The domestic consumer price inflation rate fell from 3.2% in June to 2.8% in July, but rose again to 3.1% in August, increasing the burden on households.

On the other hand, the won-dollar exchange rate, which reached 1,505 won during the fourth week of March when maximum prices were raised by 210 won, has recently fallen by about 10% to 1,358 won, partially offsetting the shock of rising international oil prices.

Yang Gi-wook, head of the Industrial Supply Chain Policy Officer at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, explained, "We comprehensively considered the international oil price situation, recent livelihood inflation burdens, trends in previous maximum price designations, and the downward trend of the exchange rate."

Since the outbreak of the Middle East war, the maximum oil price system has served as a breakwater for the livelihood economy, having the effect of lowering the domestic consumer price inflation rate by an average of 0.6 percentage points between March and August.

Some critics point out that the government might be artificially suppressing oil prices and encouraging excessive energy consumption.

However, the government countered that concerns over market distortion are not significant, as actual oil consumption has continued to decrease even after the implementation of the maximum oil price system.

In fact, from the second week of March through August, following the implementation of the maximum oil price system, total retail sales at gas stations decreased by 2.1% for gasoline and 8.4% for diesel compared to the same period last year.

On a monthly basis, July saw decreases of 2.2% for gasoline and 8.6% for diesel, while August also showed decreases of 1.2% for gasoline and 8.8% for diesel.

Yang stated, "As tensions in the Middle East persist, the government plans to promote the stabilization of public livelihoods through the maximum oil price system while operating the maximum price system flexibly and cautiously by closely monitoring international oil price fluctuations and domestic petroleum consumption trends."