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OPEC oil price continues to fall

Business Materials 7 January 2015 13:36 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7

By Umid Niayesh - Trend:

OPEC oil basket price decreased to $46.69 a barrel on Jan. 6 compared with $48.99 the previous day, OPEC's website reported Jan. 7.

The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $51.91 on Jan. 7.

OPEC's oil basket is currently made up of the Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

OPEC's oil basket price was $107.89 in mid-June, but has been in dramatic decline, especially after October. OPEC month-to-date basket price in December 2014 averaged $61.42 per barrel.

In November 2014 the OPEC average basket prices amounted to $75.57 per barrel compared to $85.06 per barrel in October, according to cartel's data.

Despite the ceiling level of 30 million barrels per day (mbpd) by OPEC, 12 members of this cartel produced 30.053 mbpd in November. However the output is about 390,100 less compared to the preceding month, according the OPEC's latest monthly report released December 10, 2014.

The biggest decline in the crude production level belongs to Libya with 248,300 bpd fall in a month, followed by Saudi Arabia (60,100 bpd) and Kuwait (59,400 bpd).

OPEC members held a meeting in ministerial level November 27, 2014 to evaluate the global oil market and the falling trend of the oil price. Iran and Venezuela wanted to lower the Cartel's oil output and set a new ceiling level below the current 30 mbpd level.

OPEC says that the demand for the organization's crude is estimated at 29.4 mbpd in 2014. In 2015, the figure is estimated to reach 28.9 mbpd.

Edited by CN

Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh

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