The president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said Wednesday the sharp hike in world oil prices will not last until early 2005, when crude oil demand from big countries will also decline.

"In the first and second quarters (in 2005), demands will decline. It opens a possibility to a drop in oil prices," Purnomo Yusgiantoro told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar in Jarkata.

He said OPEC members will meet in Cairo, Egypt in December to estimate global demand for crude oil in the whole 2005.

Oil price Wednesday breached the 51-US-dollar level per barrel.

"We cannot figure demands from China, the United States and Japan for next year. The upcoming meeting will help us make estimation," he said.

OPEC groups Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

Source: Xinhua