Caracas, Dec 12 (EFE) .- A barrel of Venezuelan crude was sold at an average price of 31.36 U.S. dollars this week, a loss of 3.13 U.S. dollars compared with that of the previous week (34.49), which left in the price averaged 89.88 U.S. dollars so far this year.

Prices continued to fall "at the prospect that the slowdown in the global economy will lead to a sharp low in energy consumption during 2009," the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MEP) on its website.

"However, in recent days has seen a recovery in prices that is responding to the expectation that OPEC will make a further cut in its production in order to stabilize the oil market," added the MEP in its weekly report.

The 31.36 U.S. dollars of the average weekly reflect a loss of over a hundred dollars from the national record of 132.53 U.S. dollars per barrel reached last July.

However, the price averaged 89.88 U.S. dollars so far this year surpasses even the comfortably reached 64.74 U.S. dollars a barrel Venezuelan last year, and to 56.45 U.S. dollars in 2006 and 45.39 U.S. dollars which averaged a barrel (159 liters) in 2005.

The fiscal budget for 2009 of Venezuela, approved yesterday by the National Assembly (AN) is the equivalent of 77,895 million dollars, and is based on the barrel will be sold at 60 dollars, which would finance about half of that amount , And the rest will come from internal revenue collection

Oil production will be 3.67 million barrels a day next year, of which it exported 2.99 million, according to the budgeted estimate.

"No one doubts that the world will consume energy; population (...) continues to grow and hence the demand will continue to grow, regardless of low (price) to be able to be cyclical sense," said weeks ago Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez.

Certified reserves of Venezuelan oil climbed last month to 152,561 million barrels, of a total of 313,000 million estimated that exists in various parts of the country. EFE