Bahk calls for global efforts to tackle soaring oil prices

South Korea’s finance minister has urged members of the Group of Twenty to jointly tackle soaring global crude prices that can hurt economic growth.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Bahk Jae-wan sent letters to finance ministers and central bankers of other G-20 members ahead of an upcoming group meeting scheduled for Thursday and Friday in Washington.

In the letters, the policymaker said that in order to settle the current problem, the G-20 must show resolve and secure assurances from oil producers to ensure a steady supply of the critical resource.

He added that while the group, made up of systemically important industrialized and developing economies, set up a long-term plan to try to stabilize oil prices in November, mounting geopolitical risks in the Middle East that can raise market concerns require immediate cooperation.

Bahk urged his fellow policymakers to send a unified message to the market by announcing all measures would be taken to prevent a surge in oil prices from destabilizing the fragile global economy.

Such measures could include the release of strategic petroleum reserves held by member countries that could increase the supply of oil and help lower prices.

The official also said the G-20 must take steps to implement guidelines recommended by the International Organization of Securities Commissions last year to regulate profit-taking by investors who distort the global energy resource market.

The IOSCO’s recommendations have received flak from investors in the United States and Britain, who argue there is no direct link between various energy derivative deals and the recent spike in crude prices. (Yonhap News)