After rising for seven consecutive trading weeks, the weekly average price of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) hit 69.44 U.S. dollars per barrel last week, the Vienna-based cartel said on Monday.
OPEC daily oil prices increased continuously on the first four trading days of last week, breaking the 70 dollar barrier last Wednesday. It dropped a slight 0.42 dollars on Friday, but still remained above the 70 dollar mark.
Last week, the world's three biggest energy agencies, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and OPEC had forecast that the world's economic recession was slowing down. Demand for U.S. crude oil has been slow for four consecutive weeks, implying the demand would soon rise. These were the major factors for last week's increase.
However, rebound of the U.S. dollar, and especially Iran's general election over the weekend also imposed pressure on oil prices, pulling the OPEC and international prices down.
Iran is the fifth largest crude oil production country in the world, conditions there directly influence the stability of the world crude oil market.
Source: Xinhua
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