The weekly average prices of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rebounded slightly above 40 U.S. dollars per barrel last week to 43.99 U.S. dollars, the Vienna-based cartel said on Monday.

The weekly oil prices were 7.70 U.S. dollars per barrel higher than the previous week, but due to lack of major support, no evidence of a strong rebound was shown.

In the first two trading days of last week, OPEC oil prices continued significant growth, hitting 46.27 U.S. dollars per barrel on Jan. 6, but fell afterward to 41.92 U.S. dollars on Jan.9.

Some experts pointed out that the Gaza, and the Russia-Ukraine gas conflicts, would not impose a significant impact on the supply-demand relationship in the international crude oil market.

In addition, the extent of OPEC's output slash was within expectations, so the market rebound it brought about was limited in terms of both scale and duration. Moreover, the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar, another factor that influences oil prices, has also been relatively stable lately.

At present, the world economy still shows a clear declining trend, and the lack of consumption, and pessimism over the crude oil market, is imposing great pressure on the market's recovery.

Source:Xinhua