Crude oil prices fell below 59 U. S. dollars on Monday as traders took profit at high prices, shrugging off the forecasts for bitterly cold weather across the northeastern United States in the next five days.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in March, lost 28 cents to settle at 58.74 dollars a barrel.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for March delivery fell 31 cents to close at 58.10 dollars a barrel.

Forecasters said that the coldest weather of the season could spread the U.S. Northeast this week.

Crude prices fell below 50 dollars a barrel on Jan. 18 in New York, hitting their lowest levels since May 2005 due to a sharp increase in U.S. crude stocks and an unusual warm weather.

However the prices have rebounded since last week as cold weather hit the U.S. Northeast, the biggest heating oil market in the world, spurring demand for heating fuel.

OPEC has vowed to reduce supply by half a million barrels per day from Feb. 1 following a 1.2 million-barrel-per day cut since November.

Source: Xinhua