The Influence of Oil Price Slump 　　This article, written by Tang Wei and published in the column Economic Notes, analyzes the reasons and impact of the steep fall of oil price and forecasts the oil market this year. The article runs in part as follows: The cloud of low oil price has consistently shrouded the international oil market. 　　There are many-sided reasons for the continuous slump of oil price. First, for many years, OPEC members have invariably had difficulty in reaching consensus on the question of limiting production to protect prices, their competition for production in excess of targets has led to oversupply of oil. Additionally, increase in Iraq's oil exports set in the agreement on exchange of oil for food approved by the United Nations has further worsened the oil market situation. Secondly, the proportion of oil in the world's energy composition has continually diminished. 　　The steep fall of oil price has not only incurred tremendous loss to OPEC, but also has factually brought negative influence on the world economy. 　　The world oil market in 1999 will still be a buyer's market, oil price will continue to hover around a low level. Therefore, countries, be they producers or consumers of oil, should take precautions and formulate counter-measures. 　　 　　 WorldNews 1999-02-09 Page7 Full Story in Chinese