Oil prices are likely to rise to between $70 and $75 a barrel by the end of this year because of expectations for an economic recovery and a weak dollar, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla el-Badri said. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has seen a pick-up in demand from China though the global economy isn’t recovering as fast as the price of oil, he said today at an energy forum in London organized by Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. Crude oil for July delivery rose as high as $67.38 a barrel today on the New York Mercantile Exchange. OPEC, responsible for 40 percent of global crude supply, decided at its most recent meeting last month to keep production levels steady in case new supply cuts jeopardized the economic recovery. “We would like to see a stable price,” el-Badri said, adding that OPEC was “not happy” with last year’s record of $147 or with lower prices earlier this year at $40. “The marginal cost for alternative energy is $70 a barrel.” As of last month, OPEC completed 78 percent of a 4.2 million barrel-a-day output reduction announced late last year, according to Bloomberg estimates. About 900,000 barrels a day of the cutback still needs to be completed, said El-Badri. A compliance level of 90 percent should be achievable, he said.

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