<Anchor> On

Monday, Kwon Aeri, a friendly economist, is with reporters. Reporter Kwon, why is the price of oil that I dropped to minus and the price of oil that I put in so different?

<Reporter>

Yes. Gasoline prices across the country fell for the 13th week in a row until the fourth week of April last week. And yesterday (26th) and today a little more.

On the 22nd, the average gasoline price of gas stations across the country fell below 1,300 won, which is only 12 years.

Prices have been falling since then. Today, it is trading at an average of 1,280 won nationwide. It is counted as 123 won per liter in a month.

If you go to the gas station and put 40 liters worth of it at once, it would be 5,000 won cheaper in a month. The lowest gas station in the country has been down to 1,119 won.

The average gasoline price in Seoul, which is the busiest and most in demand of oil, is almost always the most expensive in the country. The average price in Seoul is 1,375 won.

However, in Seoul, gas stations around 1,100 won appeared mainly in areas other than downtown. The lowest price came from Seoul up to 1,184 won.

Light oil is also getting cheaper. The national average fell to 1,91 won per liter, and the Seoul average fell to 1,198 won. The nationwide lowest price is up to 919 won.

<Anchor>

Even if it is diesel, 919 won per liter is a very unfamiliar price range, but the oil price in Korea is actually infinitely low.

<Reporter>

Yes. It may be a little lower than the prices just shown, but the decline in the future is really going to be a step. In fact, it is a difficult structure to fall to a greater extent in the future.

First, the oil price has a large tax share. A gas tax of at least 820 won per liter of gasoline is required. There is a transportation energy environmental tax on oil, and gasoline is fixed at 529 won per liter. There is another 26% local driving tax and 15% education tax. This is 746 won, semen.

However, when consumers add oil later, they also pay 10% VAT. 10% of this tax is added to the 746 won you have seen so far. So even if you don't think about anything else, 820 won will occur.

Refiners must pay this price even if they refine crude oil for free, oil tankers and tankers are free, and gas stations across the country continue to operate without earning a dime.

There are some additional fixed costs of the quasi-class. If you pay a tax that pays 3% of the import price, the tax and quasi-tax are virtually 900 won. In addition, there are oil prices, distribution margins, and gas station margins.

There are also taxes on diesel. 582 won per liter occurs unconditionally. Here, there is another price of oil itself, a little more tariffs and quasi-taxes, and a structure where margins are attached.

<Anchor>

I'm not insulting oil refineries or gas stations, I see. (The tax is a little big.) And the oil price that is often mentioned recently is the oil price, and the oil price that is brought to Korea is a little different.

<Reporter>

Yes. Recently, the negative oil price has become a hot topic, and I have focused on it once in a friendly economy. Crude oil futures, so it was a kind of accident that happened when you threw the right to secure the right to secure U.S. Texas-made crude oil for May.

And the oil that enters our country is not actually the oil from the United States, which is used as an indicator of international crude oil prices. Mainly Middle East oil and Dubai oil are imported. The price of this has never been negative.

And the oil we put in the gas station is not crude oil. It transports crude oil, refines it, and uses a product called gasoline.

This also has international prices. International prices for gasoline in the Singapore spot market, which is linked to our gas station oil prices. There is usually a time lag of two or three weeks.

So if you look at the gasoline prices this week in the Singapore spot market, the price of our gas station in three weeks is estimated.

This price has been fluctuating since late April to early $ 20 per barrel since April, which was particularly low last week. On average last week, compared to the beginning of April, it fell by about $ 3 a barrel.

In terms of liters, we can see that the price of oil at our gas station three weeks later can be lowered by 1.8 to 1.9 cents in US money.

But why do I speak on the basis of unfamiliar US money now, because the exchange rate is also important for oil prices. When the exchange rate rises, even if the oil price falls in the international market, the effect of the price drop may be negligible.

Taking this into account, if you try to convert at the current exchange rate, you can estimate about 20 won per liter lower than now by the middle of next month.