South Korea will keep its ninth-round wholesale fuel price caps unchanged from midnight on Aug. 22 through midnight on Sept. 18, while nationwide retail gasoline prices fell for a 14th consecutive week to 1,862.5 won per liter during Aug. 16-20. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy set maximum prices of 1,784 won per liter for gasoline, 1,773 won for diesel and 1,380 won for kerosene, marking the second consecutive freeze since the government cut all three caps by 150 won per liter. Opinet, the Korea National Oil Corporation's oil price information system, reported average diesel prices of 1,845.7 won per liter; Seoul had the highest gasoline price at 1,908.9 won and Daegu the lowest at 1,835.6 won. Global crude and refined-product prices rose amid stalled U.S.-Iran talks and Middle East tensions, potentially lifting domestic prices after a typical two- to three-week lag. The controls are intended to limit inflation and household costs but require government compensation to refiners and have drawn OECD criticism over fiscal costs and economic distortions.