Vienna - The basket price of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) slipped slightly to 58.57 dollars Monday, maintaining its recent high level ahead of a meeting of the cartel on Thursday.

One barrel (159 litres) of OPEC-produced crude oil was 0.18 dollars lower Monday than at the end of last week, the Vienna-based group announced Tuesday.

Analysts do not expect OPEC to cut production at its Vienna meeting, as the oil prices have risen by more than 30 per cent over the last four weeks. (dpa)