CARACAS - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday that structural causes in the market, rather than price-fixing by the OPEC oil cartel, are the reason for high world oil prices.
"OPEC yesterday increased its production by 500,000 barrels, and today the price of oil rose almost two dollars, thus there are structural faults, structural causes" in the market, he said.
Venezuela is the only Latin American member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Crude oil prices rose to fresh all-time record highs in a market still nervous about growing global demand.
The April contract for light sweet crude oil in New York closed down six cents at 56.40 a barrel after moving above 57 dollars in intraday action for the first time ever, touching a historic high of 57.60 dollars.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in May jumped 1.27 dollars to reach a peak of 56.15 dollars per barrel on Thursday -- the first time it had broken the 56-dollar barrier.
03/18/2005 01:29 GMT