Korea’s gasoline consumption hit a 14 year high in 2011 despite record high prices, data from a state-run oil company showed Monday.
The country’s average gasoline sales hit 189,707 barrels per day in the first 11 months of last year, the highest consumption since the 195,501 barrels sold in 1997, and surpassing the daily 188,852 barrels consumed in 2010, the Korea National Oil Corp. said.
The surge in sales was noteworthy because the price for a liter of gasoline stood at an all time high of 1,929.26 won ($1.67) for the cited period, and a gain of 12.8 percent from the 1,710.41 won tallied in 2010, it said.
Oil industry sources said the rise in consumption of gasoline is primarily due to the slow increase in prices for the fuel product and general unwillingness of drivers to use public transportation.
The latest data also showed the country’s diesel prices hitting a record high of 1,745.71 won per liter, up 16.2 percent from the year before and topping the previous record of 1,614.44 won per liter set in 2008.
On average, the country used 362,428 barrels of diesel fuel per day from January through November, a slight dip from 368,896 barrels consumed in the same period in 2010 when the average price stood at 1,502.80 won.
KNOC’s data, meanwhile, showed kerosene consumption, which is mainly used for heating, falling 18.5 percent to 65,751 barrels per day last year from 80,422 barrels reported for the year before.
The price for a liter of kerosene stood at 1,279.19 won or a 19.0 percent spike from the year before.
