Why Oil Continues Its Climb (2/2)

Another cause of high oil prices is the weak American dollar. Oil is traded in dollars, so a less valuable dollar buys less oil. But, experts have noted that the weak dollar alone cannot explain the increase of about eighty-five percent in the price of oil over the last year.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is the world's largest oil producing group. It says its member nations, not including Iraq, are investing one hundred twenty billion dollars in over one hundred new oil projects. OPEC says it produces about forty-five percent of the world's oil exports.

In the past, non-OPEC producers like Russia, Mexico and Norway have increased production to meet demand. But these nations have struggled to keep production at the levels of recent years. Norway's production, for example, has decreased by twenty-five percent since two thousand one.

The expanding economies of Asia, especially China and India, have increased pressure on world supplies. Meeting demand appears to be harder than ever before.

参考译文：

油价居高不下的另一个原因就是美元疲软 。石油用美元交易，所以贬值的美元购买更少的石油。但是，专家指出，仅仅美元疲软无法解释油价比去年上涨85%左右。

石油输出国家组织（OPEC）是世界上最大的石油生产组织。它说,不包括伊拉克在内的成员国，目前在100多个新的石油项目中投资了1200亿美元。欧佩克说其生产约为世界石油出口量的45%。

过去，非欧佩克生产国如俄罗斯，墨西哥和挪威会提高产量来满足需求。但是这些国家很难使产量维持在近几年的水平。比如，挪威的生产量自2001年以来已经下降了25%。

亚洲的经济快速增长，尤其是中国和印度，已经造成了世界石油供应的紧张。满足需求似乎比以往更难。

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