Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas speaks at Government House on Monday. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)
If the Middle East war ends, Thai and other world economies will start to recover but energy prices may not return to pre-war levels, Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said on Monday.He was responding to the latest reports the United States and Iran have reached agreement on ending the war,
Mr Ekniti, also a deputy prime minister, said an end to the war would be a very positive sign for Thailand and other global economies as “the world will enter rehabilitation mode".
This would reduce the risk of a global economic crisis resulting from energy price fluctuations. Energy prices might not fall to their pre-war levels, but that situation could be alleviated, Mr Ekniti said.
For now, the government would proceed with its plan to use a 200-billion-baht loan to adjust power consumption so that people would be less dependent on oil and make more use of renewable energy such as solar power, he said.
