OPEC Weekly Oil Price Hits New Record High

The weekly average oil price of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) hit a new record high of 102.57 U.S. dollars per barrel (dpb) last week, the Vienna-based cartel said Monday.

The price was 1.23 U.S. dollars higher than the last recorded 101.34 dpb in the second week of March.

It reversed a three-week downward trend, which saw weekly average prices at 99.40 dpb in the third week of March, 98.24 dpb the following week and 97.62 dpb in the first week of April.

The head of OPEC's Petroleum Market Analysis Department, Mohammad Alipour-Jeddi, said last Saturday that global oil demand would soften in the upcoming months.

He insisted that the market was well-supplied and the warming weather as well as the negative effect of the high oil prices would lead to a fall in demand.

Experts, however, still point out that prices will keep rising mainly due to the weak dollar.