Seoul, Dec 19 (IANS): South Korea on Monday announced its decision to extend the fuel tax cut for four more months amid the high energy prices, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The consumption tax cut on fuel, scheduled to expire by the end of this year, will be extended until the end of April 2023, reports Xinhua news agency.

The discount rate for petrol will be lowered to 25 per cent between January and April from the current 37 per cent, while the rate for diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) butane will be unchanged at 37 per cent during the four-month period.

To bolster private consumption, the government planned to extend the individual consumption tax cut of 30 per cent on automobiles for six more months by the end of June.

The current tax cut of 15 per cent on resources for power generation will be extended for six more months to help reduce upward pressures on the cost of utility services.

The country's consumer prices gained 5.0 per cent in November from a year earlier, staying above 5 pe rcent for the seventh consecutive month.