May 16 (Bloomberg) -- Oil prices would soar to $100 a barrel if Venezuela decided to cut sales to the U.S. amid worsening relations between the two countries, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said.

Venezuela, South America's biggest oil producer, can sell crude that now goes to the U.S. to China, Europe and other nations, Chavez said in an interview with the U.K.'s Channel 4 television.

``If we decided now to stop selling oil to the U.S., among other things, the price of oil would shoot up to $100 a barrel,'' said Chavez, who called the U.S. decision on weapons sales ``absolutely ridiculous.''

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