By Xinhua,
Vienna : The weekly average oil prices of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dropped to $109.73 per barrel last week, the Vienna-based cartel said Monday.
The prices have dropped for six consecutive trading weeks by $28.58 after they topped $138.31 in the first week of July.
The OPEC said in its monthly report Friday that the easing of political tensions and concerns over slower growth of demand amid weak economic signs were the main causes for the steep fall.
Other factors included a steep drop in oil demand in countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the US in particular, as well as a rebound of the US dollar, the cartel said.
Iran’s OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said Saturday that the oil market is oversupplied by at least one million barrels a day, so the group was considering reducing its output or keeping it unchanged if demand continues to fall.
Experts, however, have again emphasised the potential risks of political crises such as Iran’s nuclear issue and the armed conflicts in Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia, adding that the upcoming OPEC meeting in September would lead the oil prices to a clear direction.