By Tony Paul

Caracas. - The average price of crude continued to rise this week in major international markets, according to figures from the Ministry of Petroleum and mining in Venezuela, reported on Friday.

Venezuelan crude this week scored an average of $ 110.82 a barrel, 2.43 dollars more than the preceding period and $ 3.76 above the figure reached 15 days ago.

 

There were also increases in the indicators of the OPEC basket, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent European North Sea.

The oil from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) this week posted an average price of $117.26 a barrel, $3.10 above last week.

Meanwhile, WTI rose $2.55 in said period and scored an average of $100.89 a barrel, while Brent crude went from $116.51 last week to $118.33 a barrel this week.

According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mines of Venezuela, the sustained growth of oil prices this week meets the expectations regarding the approval of an economic rescue package for Greece.

Also, because of concerns about oil supplies from Middle Eastern countries and an unexpected drop in commercial crude oil inventories in the United States.

The truth is that since the beginning of the year, prices have trended steadily upward in key markets.

In this regard, it suffices to recall that according to the Venezuelan Ministry, the average price of crude Venezuela closed the year 2011 to $101.06 a barrel, while the OPEC basket made it to $107.47, WTI at $95.12 and Brent closed at $110.80.