Crude rose by nearly a third. Gasoline on Korea's oil exchange cleared at 1,779 won a litre on 54 of 56 auction days
Brent was about $78 a barrel in mid-July and above $100 by September. On the KRX oil market, the gasoline auction price was exactly 1,779 won on 54 of the 56 days it traded from 1 July to 22 October. Diesel: 1,768 won on 52 of 55.
AI-assisted, human-reviewed sourcing. Figures are pulled programmatically from the official sources listed at the end of this article and checked by an editor before publication.
korea oil marketkrx oilgasoline price koreadiesel price koreabrent crudekorea fuel prices
International crude has been volatile this year. In mid-July the September Brent contract opened at $78 a barrel. By 10 September it settled at $101.21, and it had been above $100 since 3 September. That is a rise of about 30% in two months.
On the Korea Exchange’s oil market, the gasoline price did not move.
One number, 54 times
| Fuel | Days with an auction price, 1 Jul – 22 Oct | Price on most of those days | Days at that exact price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline | 56 | 1,779 won/litre | 54 |
| Diesel | 55 | 1,768 won/litre | 52 |
| Kerosene | 6 | 1,375 won/litre | 6 |
The two gasoline days that differed were both in July: 1,782.85 won on 15 July and 1,783.24 on 22 July. Since then, every competitive gasoline auction on the exchange has cleared at 1,779 won.
The negotiated price barely moved either
The exchange also reports a negotiated-trade price. In August we found that the two prices often disagree. Over these four months, neither travelled far:
| Fuel | Negotiated price, lowest | Highest | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline | 1,780.00 | 1,785.83 | 0.3% |
| Diesel | 1,770.00 | 1,778.93 | 0.5% |
A 30% move in crude and a 0.3% range in exchange gasoline.
What this does not say
This is a small wholesale venue, not the pump. Korean retail fuel prices include taxes and are set by refiners and stations, and we did not measure them. What the exchange’s own file shows is that its gasoline and diesel prints are not a reading of the oil market: over a period when crude rose by more than $20 a barrel, they stayed within a few won. Anyone using the KRX oil price as a signal of Korean fuel costs should know that.
Korea Exchange oil market daily data, 1 July – 22 October 2026, collected daily by SeoulMarkets. Brent figures from S&P Global (12 July) and Times of Oman (10 September). Not investment advice.
Data & Verification Notes
- Data as of
- Sources
- Korea Exchange (KRX OPEN API) — Oil market daily trading: competitive-auction weighted average price, negotiated-trade weighted average price (won per litre) and volume for gasoline, diesel and kerosene, 76 trading days from 1 July to 22 October 2026, collected daily by SeoulMarkets.
- S&P Global Commodity Insights — ICE September Brent opened at $78.00 a barrel on 12 July 2026.
- Times of Oman — Brent settled at $101.21 a barrel on 10 September 2026 and had held above $100 since 3 September.
- Cross-checks
- Gasoline, competitive auction: 56 days with a price; 1,779 won on 54 of them; the other two were 1,782.85 (15 Jul) and 1,783.24 (22 Jul). Negotiated trades ranged from 1,780.00 to 1,785.83 won over all 76 days.
- Diesel, competitive auction: 55 days with a price; 1,768 won on 52; the others 1,772.92, 1,772.48 and 1,771.97 (all in July). Negotiated range 1,770.00 to 1,778.93.
- Kerosene, competitive auction: 6 days with a price, all 1,375 won. Negotiated range 1,375.00 to 1,398.27.
- No competitive gasoline price was recorded on 20 of the 76 days (shown as zero in the KRX file).
- Excluded figures
- Retail pump prices, refinery gate prices and taxes. The KRX oil market is a small wholesale venue; this piece describes its prints only.
- Why the price does not move. We did not investigate the market's rules or participants.
- Brent prices after 10 September: we did not find a source we could confirm for later dates.
- This is not investment advice.
The full dataset behind these figures — every listed company, every row — is available to license. SeoulMarkets data for licence →
Not investment advice. SMarkets publishes data journalism for general information only. Nothing here is investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any security — any investment you make is at your own risk and responsibility. Figures are derived from official public data sources and may be revised by the issuing agency. Verify independently before acting.
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