OPEC weekly oil price rebounds to above 70 U.S. dollars

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/business/2010-06/07/c_13338063.htm

VIENNA,  (Xinhua) -- The weekly average oil price of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rebounded to 71.79 U.S. dollars per barrel last week, the Vienna-based cartel said Monday.

This has been the first time for the OPEC weekly average oil price to pick up following a consecutive price decline of four weeks.

OPEC's weekly average oil price hit its record high this year of 83.36 dollars a barrel in the last week of April, which was followed with a continual decline, reaching 68.95 dollars a barrel in the last week of May. It was also the lowest level of the past 35 weeks.

The rebound in oil price last week was mainly due to the strength of the U.S. dollar, analysts said, adding that the supply-demand relationship on the international crude oil market has so far remained unchanged.

In addition, the latest employment report released by the U.S. Labor Department indicated no substantial improvement on the U.S. job market, which to some extent, fueled concerns on the prospect of the U.S. economic recovery.

Meanwhile, there are reports that Hungary may be facing the similar debt problem as Greece, sparking concerns about the further expansion of the debt crisis in Europe.

While the U.S. dollar continues to be strong for some time, the above two factors will put pressure on oil prices, resulting in oscillating oil prices in the near future, according to the analysts.