South Korea's gasoline consumption hits record high in January

Despite high prices, South Korea’s gasoline consumption in January reached a record-high in terms of volume. Sales of gasoline in the domestic market rose 7.59% from the previous year’s 5,412,000 barrels to 5,823,000 barrels last month. Opinet, a website dedicated to oil price information, said that last month’s sale was the highest January gasoline sale ever recorded. The price of gasoline increased sharply because of the skyrocketing Dubai crude oil prices. Imported crude oil from Dubai comprises 80% of the country’s oil imports. Last February 24, the price of Dubai crude oil spiked to US$121.57. (February 28, 2012)