Analysis suggests the price hikes were caused primarily by a cut in supplies as the regime scrambles to hoard fuel, wary of a potential fuel crunch
Petrol and diesel prices rose sharply in North Korea after its sixth nuclear test and as the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions capping fuel supply, market data showed.
The Security Council unanimously passed a resolution on September 11 banning exports of condensates and natural gas liquids to the North and capping the annual supply of refined petroleum products at two million barrels and crude at its current levels.
The price of petrol sold by private dealers in the capital Pyongyang and northern border cities of Sinuiju and Hyesan spiked to US$2.51 per kg as of September 13, up 45.1 per cent from US$1.73 per kg on September 5, according to Reuters analysis of data compiled by the Daily NK website.
The website is run by North Korean defectors who collect prices via phone calls with traders in the North.
Diesel prices also surged 61.5 per cent from US$1.30 per kg to US$2.10 per kg during the same period.
Lee Sang-yong, who speaks regularly to sources inside the North and supervises market data from them, said the price hikes were caused primarily by a cut in supplies as the regime scrambles to hoard fuel, wary of a potential fuel crunch.
