South Korea's consumption of gasoline rose by about 16 percent in July from a year earlier, while consumption of diesel declined about four percent.

According to the data from the state-run Korea National Oil Corporation on Sunday, the country consumed eight-point-42 million barrels of gasoline in July, up 15-point-five percent from a year earlier.

The rise is attributed to the removal of social distancing measures and increased traffic in the summer vacation season.

From a month earlier, gasoline consumption soared 37-point-two percent in July.

Diesel consumption marked 13-point-33 million barrels in July, down three-point-six percent from a year earlier. The on-year drop is attributed to the higher price of diesel, which remains higher than that of gasoline.