TPSO:World oil prices should not reach US$100 a barrel

BANGKOK, October 5 (TNA) - The Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), under the Thai Ministry of Commerce, has estimated that a rising trend of world oil prices currently, caused mainly by the impact from the United States' sanctions on Iran's oil industry, should not reach 100 US dollars a barrel. TPSO Director-General Pimchanok Vonkorpon told journalists of the estimation on October 4, noting that the rising world oil prices are also caused by the speculation of prices by oil traders. Pimchanok assessed that the current world oil prices should reach 80-90 US dollars per barrel, higher than the 65-75 level her office used earlier to project Thailand's export growth and inflation rate on average this year. However, the TPSO chief anticipated that the rising world oil prices should not reach 100 US dollars per barrel, as Washington is seeking cooperation with other major oil producing and exporting countries to limit a ceiling of the increasing oil prices on the world market. Besides, other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Saudi Arabia, may soon implement more measures to offset a drop in the Iranian oil exports, namely an increase in the quota of their oil production. The TPSO chief pointed out that the growing world economy steadily but moderately should have no accelerating pressure on the demand side. The TPSO chief projected that world oil prices should increase by 38-56 per cent year-on-year during the rest of this year if they rose to 80-90 US dollars per barrel, from 69 US dollars per barrel on average during the first eight months of this year, and Thailand's exports of oil-related products should then jump by 26-36 per cent. "The leap of Thailand's exports of oil-related products should boost the country's overall export growth by 2.6-3.6, which should support the country's export growth on average in 2018 to meet the official target of about 9 per cent year on-year", the TPSO chief explained. The TPSO chief said her office has also, meanwhile, maintained its projection that Thailand's inflation should stand around 0.8–1.6 per cent in 2018 despite the rising world oil prices. (TNA)