Kuwait Petroleum Corporation announced Tuesday that the price of Kuwait crude oil was at USD 101.05 per barrel Monday, an increase of USD 0.53 from Friday's USD 100.52 pb. Oil prices fluctuated in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) due to instability in the Middle East region. Meanwhile, it is expected that the US oil reserve would retreat to record 800,000 per barrel as a result of Saudi Arabia's announcement, last March, of lowering oil exports. Yesterday, contracts for crude oil at NYSE peaked at USD 96.79 per barrel and the lowest recorded was USD 96.55. Brent oil contracts for the month of July rose to USD 104.80, an increase of USD 0.16.