Oil prices slipped Tuesday in New York as traders anticipated lower demand for heating fuel amid forecasts of mild weather in the United States.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude for delivery in February fell 27 cents to close at 58.16 dollars a barrel. London Brent crude settled 40 cents weaker to 56.29 dollars.

Forecasts of warmer than normal temperatures could keep oil prices down through the winter season. Overall U.S. heating fuel demand should be 27.7 percent below normal in the week as of Dec. 31, with heating oil demand in the Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market, about a quarter less than usual, the National Weather Service said in a forecast.

Temperatures in the Northeast are expected to be slightly above normal through Wednesday and then rise to six to 12 degrees F above normal through Saturday, said the forecast.

U.S. reserves of crude have increased 12.4 percent over last year, while heating fuel reserves are up 11.1 percent and natural gas 2.3 percent over the average of the past five years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Oil prices also fell after Royal Dutch Shell said it had managed to restore most of its production in Nigeria after unknown gunmen attacked two pipelines on Dec. 20, triggering a huge blaze and oil slick.

Crude prices are up a third from the start of the year, but are sharply lower than the 70.85-dollar-a-barrel peak touched on Aug. 30, when Hurricane Katrina ripped through U.S. oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and tore into coastal refineries.

The market has traded between 56 dollars and 61 dollars for most of the past two months, prompting speculators to scale back bets that prices would carry on falling.