Oil fell towards $60 a barrel today as mild weather in the US Northeast undermined demand for fuel in the world's biggest heating oil market.
DTN Meteorlogix predicted temperatures in the US Northeast would be up to 16 degrees Fahrenheit (8 Celsius) above normal this week. Other forecasters also saw warmer-than-average temperatures until next week.
The National Weather Service said yesterday demand for heating oil in the week to January 6th would be about 33 per cent below normal.
US crude was off 60 cents at $60.45 at 9.27am London Brent slipped 32 cents to $60.12.
US oil on Friday - the last trading day of 2006 - settled at $61.05, 1 cent higher than the final day of trading in 2005. US crude averaged $66.24 last year, well below a record high of $78.40 hit in mid-July.
Oil found some support from Iran's refusal to comply with a UN resolution to stop its uranium enrichment programme.
