Wednesday, November 23 2005 09:21 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Singapore: Oil prices climbed in Asian trading today (Nov 23, 2005) driven by demand for heating fuel as temperatures fell ahead of the northern hemisphere winter, dealers said.

At 10:45 am (0815 IST), New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in January, rose 14 cents to 58.98 dollars a barrel from its close of 58.84 dollars in the United States yesterday (Nov 22, 2005).

Prices had risen by 1.14 dollars in New York closing deals as falling temperatures across the United States and Europe prompted predictions of a sharp increase in demand for heating fuel.

"It seems that we are seeing quite a clear recovery in the price of oil, which is driven by outlook for demand and supply," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, a Hong Kong-based investment strategist at CFC Seymour Scurities.

"The US weather has finally become colder than ever, which will drive demand for heating oil. As a result of that, the commodities sector will experience some upside," he said.

Kowalczyk said prices are expected to peak in the 'low 60s' during the winter season, maybe early next year, after which they would start falling again.

After hitting a record high of 70.85 dollars a barrel on August 30, oil prices have been falling to reflect unusually warm weather during October and much of November.

They hit a five-month low of 56.34 dollars last week.