VIENNA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)'s decision to cut oil production has failed to curb falling prices.

    The average prices of OPEC's crudes dropped to 96.80 U.S. dollars per barrel Wednesday after falling below 100 dollars per barrel to 98.49 dollars per barrel on the previous day, said the Vienna-based cartel on Thursday.

    In view of falling oil prices and lower demand, OPEC member countries decided on Wednesday to cut oil production by 520,000 barrels per day.

    The oil prices of OPEC have dropped 6.89 dollars per barrel, or nearly seven percent, in five consecutive trading days in a row since Sept. 4.

    Since setting a record of 140.73 dollars per barrel on July 3, the price of crude oil has fallen by some 30 percent.

    The strengthened U.S. dollar and the expectation of lower demand for crude oil due to the weakening world economy has a greater influence on investors than OPEC's decision to cut production, experts said.

    On the international monetary market, the euro-dollar exchange rate has fallen below 1:1.40, a new low since Nov. 20, 2007.

    The main crude oil consuming regions, such as the United States and Europe, have shown slower economic growth. The growth rate for the 27 European Union countries in 2008 is estimated to be only 1.4 percent, less than half of that in 2007.