South Korea Extends Fuel Tax Cuts by Two Months Until Late November

South Korea's finance ministry said on Friday that it will extend fuel tax cuts by two months until the end of November to ease the burden on consumers amid continued tensions in the Middle East. According to Sina Finance, the ministry said the decision was made at an economic ministers' meeting chaired by Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho. Under the measure, the current 15% tax cut on gasoline and 25% cuts on diesel and butane, which were originally set to expire at the end of this month, will remain in place until the end of November. The ministry said in a statement that it decided to keep the current tax relief policy in place, citing the country's ability to cope with a possible increase in oil price volatility. It also said the government decided to continue larger tax cuts on diesel, a key fuel for industrial and logistics activity, and butane, which is widely used as fuel for small trucks.