Chavez renews oil threat to US

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez renewed a threat on Friday to halt oil supplies to the United States if Washington “hurts” the Latin American country.

Earlier this month, Chavez told a news conference in Uruguay that the United States would not receive a drop of oil if he were killed.

Asked whether the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), of which Venezuela is a member, would increase output to cool current near-record prices, Chavez said on Friday the cartel was “producing enough”.

“(The) increasing price of oil has nothing to do with Opec. It is the structure of the market,” he said, adding that Opec was evaluating factors at work.

News24