The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)'s weekly average crude oil prices rose to 57.5 U.S. dollars per barrel, up 3.03 dollars from the previous week and the highest so far this year, the cartel's secretariat said on Monday.

Some market analysts said the high prices were pushed by a combination of factors including rising global demand, limited excess production capacity and concerns about supply interruptions in Iran and Nigeria.

A sudden snowstorm across the United States last week spurred strong demand for heating oil set to last over the coming weeks.

OPEC is also concerned that supply will be disrupted if Iran, the cartel's No. 2 supplier, receives further sanctions for its continuing nuclear program.

Moreover, ongoing violence in the Middle East and Nigeria also caused more fears of an oil-supply disruption in the region.

Iran's Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh said last Friday during a visit to an oil field in the country that if OPEC member countries decide to cut production, the oil price will reach 60 dollars per barrel.

OPEC decided to cut production by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Feb. 1 at its last meeting in December, following a reduction of 1.2 million bpd in November.

Representatives from the member countries will meet in Vienna in mid-March to decide on the organization's new production in the second quarter of the year.

Source: Xinhua