Experts with the price monitoring center of China's State Development and Reform Commission predicted that the international oil price will remain stable in the second quarter of this year, the China Securities Journal reported on Monday.

They said the price is likely to stay at around 50 US dollars a barrel through the first six months of 2005, the paper said.

With the slow growth of the world economy, the demand for oil will decrease, they reasoned, so it is unlikely for the oil price to continue growing.

They said oil-producing countries are increasing their output to reduce prices, as they are worried that the high oil price would slow down world economic growth and hurt them in the long run.

OPEC members are also trying to expand production and improve their ability to control prices in an effort to keep them at a reasonable level.

Last week the oil price reached record 60 dollars a barrel on the international market.

The high oil prices made it hard for Chinese consumers to buy cars. Due to the stagnant auto market over the last couple of months, China's car output declined by 1.5 percent in the first two months of this year, the paper said.

China imported 23.78 million tons of crude oil and processed oil in the January-February period of 2005, a decrease of 2.32 million tons compared with the same period of 2004.

Source: Xinhua