South Korea may use fuel price cap to curb consumer prices
South Korea's Vice Finance Minister said on Friday the government would work to stabilize consumer prices through measures such as imposing a price ceiling on petroleum prices amid the escalating Middle East crisis.
"We should be making all-out efforts to stabilize prices across many items as global oil price volatility is increasing due to the recent Middle East situation," Lee Hyoung-il said at a policy meeting.
The comments follow a warning by President Lee Jae Myung that authorities would punish fuel hoarding and price collusion among refiners and gas stations, as officials expect rising oil prices to add upward price pressure in the coming weeks.
Iran launched a fresh wave of missile attacks across the Gulf earlier on Thursday, while the U.S. remained defiant.
The rising risk of a drawn-out conflict has particular significance for South Korea, the world's fourth-largest oil importer, which gets around 70% of its oil from the Middle East.
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