World oil prices are continuing to spiral up. Dubai crude which takes up 80 percent of Korea's oil imports rose by nearly seven percent and is now near the US$30 mark per barrel. The cold wave in the Eastern United States and OPEC's output reductions have lifted crude oil prices. But price increases have been an across-the-board trend, affecting everything from iron ore and copper to aluminum.

In the U.S., American steel makers have asked their government to restrict the export of scrap iron while President Bush in December lifted protectionist tariffs on foreign steel imports levied in March 2002. Japan is willing to offer tax breaks to companies substituting naphtha, a petroleum byproduct with kerosene and gasoline. China and India recently struck a barter deal to swap iron ore and coal while Thailand and Malaysia raised the upper limit on raw materials to curb rising product prices.

In Seoul, authorities are considering lowering import tariffs among others as they work to devise measures to stabilize the supply of raw materials. But as global demand picks up further steam on the back of a strong rebound in emerging markets especially China, supplies will be hard to come by for the time being.

Arirang TV