Oil prices slipped on Tuesday as traders bet that weekly US crude stocks figures would show declining demand in the world's biggest energy-consuming nation.

Benchmark light, sweet crude oil futures for December settled at 56.98 dollars a barrel, down 71 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day, the contract tested above 58 dollars a barrel.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for December delivery declined 68 cents to 54.05 dollars a barrel.

US Department of Energy inventories data, due for publication on Wednesday, were expected to show a rise in company stockpiles, suggesting waning demand for oil in the United States.

Analysts forecast a two-million-barrel increase in crude stocks and a 700,000-barrel rise in distillates inventories. Gasoline (petrol) reserves were predicted to climb by 1.5 million barrels.

Distillates include heating fuel, demand for which traditionally spikes during the winter months.

New York's December contract had ended 16 cents higher on Monday as weather forecasters predicted temperatures would drop soon in the US northeast.

Economists generally believe that Saudi Arabia, the kingpin of the OPEC cartel of oil producers, has the capacity to sharply increase its oil production between now and 2030, to 18.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from 10.5 million now.

Also on Monday, US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman had expressed confidence that OPEC would decide to provide "sufficient" crude to the world market at a meeting next month in Kuwait.