"We still haven't sold off the diesel we brought in before the maximum price system took effect, so we have no choice but to sell high." (A gas station in Mapo District)
"The government said to sell diesel cheaper than gasoline, so we have to match it. Can we go against it." (B gas station in Mapo District)
Since on the 16th, the fourth day of the maximum price system, the national average retail price of diesel fell below that of gasoline, but a look at individual gas stations showed many places where diesel was still more expensive than gasoline.
Gas stations selling gasoline at a higher price than diesel said they aligned with government policy regardless of cost. Conversely, stations still selling diesel at higher prices said it was because of inventory received before the maximum price system took effect, and that once that sells out, diesel will become cheaper again.
On the 16th, ChosunBiz visited gas stations around Mapo District in Seoul and found no consistent pattern in the relative prices of diesel and gasoline.
At B gas station, the retail prices per liter (L) were 1,848 won for gasoline and 1,828 won for diesel, with gasoline higher, while C gas station, five minutes away on foot, had gasoline (1,879 won) cheaper than diesel (1,889 won).
D gas station, a 10-minute walk from C, again had gasoline (1,799 won) more expensive than diesel (1,795 won). A gas station, 20 minutes from D, was the opposite, selling gasoline (1,879 won) cheaper than diesel (1,897 won).
Starting on the 6th, six days after the day of the U.S. and Israel's strike on Iran, diesel retail prices surpassed gasoline, leading to an inversion. But the inversion in gasoline and diesel prices disappeared on the 16th based on national average prices. On that day, the national average diesel retail price was 1,831.80 won, and the gasoline retail price was 1,832.70 won.
Employees at gas stations selling gasoline at higher prices than diesel said, "The government set a lower price for diesel, so we matched it." The government implemented a maximum price system at midnight on the 13th to set the prices at which refiners supply to gas stations.
In the first phase, the prices were set at 1,724 won for gasoline and 1,713 won for diesel, with diesel 11 won lower. An employee at B gas station in Mapo District said, "The government told us to lower the diesel price, so we did." In other words, prices were set regardless of cost.
For directly managed gas stations run by refiners, they said they set gasoline prices higher to match the maximum price system. The manager of D gas station, a directly managed station in Mapo District, said, "Because we're directly managed, we sell at the price set by headquarters," adding, "Since the government set a higher supply price for gasoline, we matched that."
Stations where diesel is more expensive than gasoline explained they could not match the maximum price system yet because the diesel they received before the system took effect had not been fully sold.
An employee at A gas station said, "It varies by station, but generally there are more gasoline cars than diesel cars, so gasoline runs out faster," adding, "We still have diesel received before the maximum price system, so we are selling diesel at higher prices for now. We can't sell something we brought in at a high price for cheap."
The employee said, "Because we don't sell off all the fuel received before the maximum price system and then refill the tank at once, it will take a little more time for the supply prices set by the maximum price system to be fully reflected in retail prices."
After the strike on Iran, as fuel prices spiked, gas stations have been slowing the pace of refilling their tanks. In the past, they would bring in new fuel and mix it when tank levels were at 20%–30%, but now it is common to wait until storage falls to around 10%–5%.
An employee at C gas station said, "Early this morning we received and put in fuel for the first time since the maximum price system took effect," adding, "The supply price has fallen compared to before the system, and diesel's supply price was lower than gasoline's, but in the end, it's a waiting game."
Meanwhile, Kim Jung-kwan, Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, visited an Altteul gas station in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, on the 16th and said, "Today marks the fourth day of the petroleum maximum price system, but the pace at which refiners' lower supply prices are being reflected in gas station consumer prices seems slow," adding, "As gas stations deplete their inventories and refill their tanks at cheaper prices than before, it is natural for consumer prices to come down. We will mobilize all our capabilities so consumers can feel the effect of the maximum price system at gas stations."