The daily average prices of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) set a new record of 136.94 U.S. dollars per barrel Tuesday, the Vienna-based cartel said on Wednesday.
The prices on Tuesday broke the previous record of 136.03 dpb set on Monday, setting the third price record in three consecutive trading days. Last Friday, a record of 135.31 dpb was reached.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), the advisor to western countries on energy, wrote Tuesday in its energy outlook till 2013that speculation could only influence the prices in the short term and the reason for the current high prices should be attributed to the rising demand for crude.
The IEA said that, according to research, till 2013 the annual oil demand would rise 1.6 percent, namely a daily demand of 94.14 million barrels, compared to the current need of 86.87 million barrels per day. Ninety percent of oil requests would come from developing countries in Asia.
Meanwhile, the nuclear dispute between western countries and Iran further pushed the prices higher. Traders had been deeply concerned about a potential attack on the third-biggest oil-producing country.
OPEC President Chakib Khelil said Tuesday the cartel would increase its production in the future with the help of new technology, adding that the cartel would contribute about 52 percent of the world's oil by 2010.
The current OPEC output is about 40 percent of the global oil output.
Source: Xinhua
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