Government orders close watch on oil prices after Venezuela
Government is monitoring global oil prices after events in Venezuela, with the finance and energy ministers warning oil is the key economic risk
- The government is watching global oil prices closely following the situation in Venezuela.
- Ekniti is monitoring the risk of oil prices affecting the economy.
- Energy Minister Auttapol has ordered close monitoring of oil prices, hoping Venezuelan supply could help pull prices down if the US manages it well.
Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, spoke about the situation after the United States carried out military operations and announced it would move in to manage crude oil resources in Venezuela. He said the main economic impact to watch is oil.
He said the direct impact on Thailand may not be significant, but there could be indirect economic effects—particularly through the direction of oil prices. He added that he had already coordinated with the Energy Minister to oversee this issue.
Auttapol Rerkpiboon, the Energy Minister, said that in the short term the situation in Venezuela must be watched and oil prices monitored closely. He said he had instructed the Energy Ministry to give the issue special attention and to follow developments closely in order to assess impacts.
Looking further ahead, he said the key issue to watch is concern over whether global oil supply will increase. A crucial factor will be how the United States manages the situation. If it can manage it well, he said, oil supply in the market could rise, because Venezuela is a source with very large reserves.
Auttapol added that if there is no severe incident or escalation that spreads to other countries, an increase in supply flowing into the market would be a positive outcome and could help bring oil prices down. However, he said such effects may not appear immediately, because it will take time to move in and manage the situation, and the process of bringing oil up for use will take a long time.
