Venezuelan president accuses US of pushing oil prices
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Tuesday accused the United States of being one of the forces that was contributing to the surging world oil prices.

In a speech inaugurating a new subway line in Caracas, Chavez said he hoped the oil prices would not rise further, accusing Washington of fuelling the geopolitical tensions behind the price dilemma.

"It's not in our plans that they (the prices) keep rising, but (U.S.) imperial craziness and other factors disturbing world peace have raised the price of oil to 70 U.S. dollars a barrel," he said.

Chavez promised to divert new revenue from surging oil prices to social and infrastructure development. "If the oil prices continue rising, this fund will continue receiving additional resources," he said.

Chavez, the president of the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a harsh critic of the U.S. government, has frequently blamed record-high oil prices on U.S. interference in the Middle East.