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The crude oil price controlled by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell and was kept under US$24 per barrel in the past four days, statistics released here showed.
The Vienna-based OPEC Secretariat said in a report that OPEC's reference price basket of seven of its crudes reached US$23.85 per barrel on Friday, although rose 13 cents than Thursday, but still below the cartel's central US$25 target.
The report came after the OPEC cartel signaled last week its determination to stop prices from falling below its target range.
In an OPEC meeting held here on April 24, the cartel agreed to cut back its daily production to 25.4 million barrels from a surge in production to cover for the halt in Iraqi exports.
Prices are recovering from five-month lows hit after the meeting but still staying far away from reaching OPEC's expectation.
On Friday, US crude futures reached US$25.67 per barrel and in London, benchmark Brent crude dropped 18 cents to US$23.54 per barrel.
Prices were kept below the cartel's central US$25, worrying some OPEC members. OPEC President Abdullah al-Attiyah said on Wednesday that the cartel was worried by the price drop and that ministers were consulting on how to intervene to prevent prices from falling any further.
But industrialized nations hope the recent fall in oil prices will help kick-start slow economic growth. Economists say OPEC's 25-dollar-per-barrel target price works for both producers and consumers.
(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2003)
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