OPEC Reports Consecutive Drop of Weekly Prices

The weekly average oil prices of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dropped to 97.62 U.S. dollars per barrel last week, the Vienna-based cartel said on Mondy.

So far, the weekly average prices have declined 3.72 dollars from the record 101.34 dollars per barrel in the second week of March, after declining for three consecutive weeks.

The prices dived from 99.77 dollars to 95.75 dollars per barrel on the first two trading days last week, before rebounding to 98.63 dollars per barrel on Friday, the same as last Monday.

However, the monthly prices kept rising since the beginning of the year, jumping from 88.35 dollars in January to 90.64 dollars in February and then to 99.03 dollars in March.

Experts warned that the prices would keep surging, mainly due to the weak dollar.

On Saturday, OPEC General Secretary Abdullah al-Badri claimed "there is enough oil in the market." The main reasons for high prices were attributed to the geographic crisis, the "lack of refining capacity" and the "depreciation of the dollar's value."