OPEC weekly oil price exceeds 80 U.S. dollars

VIENNA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The weekly average oil price of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) increased to 81.95 U.S. dollars last week, exceeding 80 dollars for the first time since October 2008, the group said Monday.

On the first trading day last week, the OPEC daily average oil price reached its record high of 81.27 dollars this year, surging by 1.38 dollars compared to the previous week.

In the following four trading days, it kept oscillating within a narrow range from 81.60 to 82.55 dollars per barrel.

The news of EU leaders' consensus on assistance to Greece reduced the investors' risk, resulting in a decline of 1 percent in the dollar index after its continual increase. The falling dollar exchange rate is one of the important factors to improve the oil prices.

In addition, as the weather becomes warm, a new round of peak oil consumption is coming.

Moreover, the latest official survey showed that in March, crude production of OPEC's 12 member countries stood at 29.30 million barrels per day, 10,000 barrels less than in February.

However, according to official figures, the high unemployment rate in the United States and the growing inventory of crude oil may hinder a rapid increase in oil prices.