By Energy Live News

The price of oil from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) inched above $105 per barrel over February.

Though it had subsided to $103.75 a barrel by Wednesday (12 March), OPEC’s reference basket last month edged up by around 70 cents.

The oil group’s monthly report released this week said this was a result of cold weather, cuts in oil production and geopolitical tensions such as the Ukraine crisis.

OPEC also said the “expected improvement” in the global economy is leading to higher oil demand, with oil use forecast at 1.1 million barrels per day for 2014 compared 1.0 million b/d in 2013.

The report noted the “rising risk” of a slowdown in growth in the emerging economies has been mirrored in the foreign exchange markets recently.

It added a “key determinant” for the increase in world oil demand will be the pace of growth in these emerging economies.