VIENNA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- The weekly average prices of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) kept dropping with fluctuation last week, falling by 0.10 U.S. dollars compared with the previous week to 76.26 dollars per barrel, the Vienna-based cartel said Monday.
The OPEC oil prices kept fluctuating during the five trading days from Nov. 9 to Nov. 13. It increased from 76.57 dollars per barrel on Nov. 9 to 76.89 dollars on Nov. 11, and then declined to 75.26 dollars on Nov. 13.
OPEC weekly average oil prices have been oscillating within a narrow range from 76 dollars to 76.5 dollars per barrel for four weeks so far. It reflected that the increase of international oil prices is slowing down after a rapid rise in the first half of this year.
The U.S. economic prospect is still the key factor affecting international oil prices, as the country is the largest oil consumer of the world.
According to the American Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI), its indicator measuring the U.S. future economic growth rate has dropped to the lowest point for eight weeks.
In addition, the figures of the U.S. Department of Commerce showed that the U.S. trade deficit in September amounted to 36.47 billion dollars, 4.82 billion dollars higher than originally estimated. It was the largest sum since January of this year.
Moreover, the consumer confidence index of November released on Nov. 13by Reuters /University of Michigan declined from 68.9 to 63.7.
All of the above factors exacerbated the market's concerns about U.S. economic prospects, which will in turn affect the international oil prices.
It is reported that OPEC President Jose Botelho de Vasconcelos said OPEC should continue to maintain its original oil production due to higher crude oil inventories and the weak prospects for global economic recovery.
The OPEC oil ministers meeting will be held on Dec. 22 in Luanda, capital of Angola, to decide the future oil production policy.
Special Report: Global Financial Crisis
