OPEC oil prices drop after 6-week rising

VIENNA, April 6 -- The weekly average prices of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) fell to 48.55U.S. dollars per barrel, the first price decline since the end of February, the Vienna-based cartel said Monday.

The oil price hovered around 40 U.S. dollars in the first three months of this year. However, the price began to move upward since March 15, when the OPEC member states decided to maintain the current oil output level.

Analysts said the crude oil market is expected to make a faster recovery as the just-concluded G20 summit decided to provide 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars to help pull the global economy out of recession.

Data also showed that the decline of U.S. fuel demand has slowed down. The United States is one of the world's biggest oil consumers.

Meanwhile, the OPEC crude oil supply has decreased substantially since last September, when OPEC members agreed to production cuts that amount to a 4.2 million-barrel-per day reduction, which is another contributor to the rising oil prices recently, said the analysts.