VIENNA, March 6(Xinhuanet)-- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) on Sunday expressed its concern over the recent crude oil price hikes in the international market.

OPEC Secretary General Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said the organization has been closely observing oil price movements recently, noting that the OPEC Reference Basket has risen by more than 8.50 US dollars per barrel since Feb. 8, reaching 48.36 dollars per barrel last Friday.

"OPEC is concerned about this price development despite the fact that the market is well-supplied and global crude oil stocks have continued to build, now standing above their five-year average," said Fahad, the Kuwaiti energy minister.

OPEC attributed the price rise to a number of factors, including the late cold snap in the Northern Hemisphere and unexpected outages in the downstream sector, in addition to expectations of continued strong demand and ongoing concerns aboutthe slowdown in the pace of growth in non-OPEC supply and downstream bottlenecks.

He said OPEC ministers will review the prevailing market outlook to ensure market stability at reasonable price at a conference to be held in Isfahan, Iran, on March 16.

He noted that OPEC had increased production levels three times in 2004.

Currently, the organization is producing around 29.5 million barrels per day, which has ensured that demand is fully met, and global crude oil stocks continue to build, he said.

"Moreover, some of our member countries sped up the implementation of their capacity expansion plans, so as to enhance the organization's ability to cope with possible future supply disruptions," Fahad said.

OPEC's spare capacity now stands at more than 2 million barrelsper day, and should exceed 3 million barrels per day by year-end, he added.