South Korea’s Energy Costs Rose 30.4 Per Cent in First Half of 2005

Text of report in English by South Korean newspaper Chungang Ilbo website on 4 August

Korea’s energy bill rose 30.4 per cent to 29.3bn dollars in the first half of the year as crude oil prices reached a record high, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said in a statement yesterday.

Crude oil imports accounted for a fourth of the country’s 124bn- dollar import bill as energy consumption rose. Imports of crude oil jumped 42 per cent to 18.6bn dollars, liquefied natural gas rose 18 per cent to 3.8bn dollars and coking coal climbed 25.7 per cent to 2.2bn dollars.

Oil prices in New York have risen 41 per cent in a year to more than 62 dollars a barrel as OPEC producers increased output close to maximum to meet rising global demand led by the United States and China.