December 12, 2005 8:45 AM, EST

Cold Weather, OPEC Announcement Push Oil Prices Higher

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rude oil prices rose overnight to more than $60 a barrel a sixth straight day, as continuing cold weather increased demand and OPEC ended its offer to sell every barrel it can pump, Bloomberg reported Monday.

Oil futures rose as much as 89 cents, to $60.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in overnight trading, Bloomberg said. Prices have declined 15% from a record $70.85 on Aug. 30 but are almost double their level of two years ago.

OPEC delegates from Nigeria and Libya said Monday the cartel will let its offer to pump at capacity expire on Dec. 31 because they saw little demand for that extra oil.

Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, said the organization may cut output before the second quarter of next year, Bloomberg reported.

Temperatures in New York were projected to fall to as low as 15 degrees this week, weather forecasters said. Cold weather can increase demand for heating oil, which in turn puts pressure on diesel supplies, as both are distillate fuels.