According to Opinet (www.opinet.co.kr), the Korea National Oil Corporation's gas station information blog, seven gas stations in Seoul's Gangnam District were selling gasoline at a retail price of over W2,000 per liter on Thursday. The average price of regular gasoline at all gas stations in Gangnam was W1,957 per liter, up W30 from just two days before.

The KNOC said there's worse to come, as domestic gasoline prices move about two or three weeks after international prices are decided. That means that regular-grade gasoline will soon cost W2,000 per liter in many more areas.

The average price of diesel at gas stations in Gangnam was W1,923 per liter on Thursday, up W51 from W1,872 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, electricity prices are expected to rise in the second half of the year on the back of persistent increases in oil prices. In a press conference Thursday, Vice Knowledge Economy Minister Lee Jae-hoon said electricity prices would inevitably go up. "Increasing them next year will be too late, so we will definitely have to increase them this year."

A ministry official said that there were factors meriting a 7.6 percent increase in electricity prices last year, and for another 5.5 percent increase in the first half of this year. If all the increase factors are reflected, it's possible that the increase rate may be in the double digits.

(englishnews@chosun.com )