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Oil crept back above US$62 a barrel on Tuesday, drawing modest support from Opec production cuts and US shipping delays.
But the market was under pressure from mild weather in top consumer the United States that has eroded heating oil demand.
US crude was nine cents higher at US$62.30 a barrel by 1637 GMT ahead of the January contract's expiry. It fell by US$1.22 on Monday, the first drop in four sessions.
London Brent was two cents weaker at US$62.11.
Mild weather was expected to persist in most of the United States until at least early January, continuing a prolonged spell of balmy conditions that have eroded heating oil demand, government and private forecasters said on Tuesday.
"The weather is mild in the United States and there is less focus on geopolitical tension," John Hall of John Hall Associates said. "I think prices are going to stick around US$60-US$65 until something goes wrong."
- REUTERS
