LONDON, Oct 31: World oil prices lost more than a dollar on Monday, as expectations of warmer weather in the United States and Opec assurances that it has adequate spare capacity to meet demand offset a strike threat at Europe’s biggest refinery, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, shed $1.42 to $59.80 per barrel in pit trading.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for December delivery plunged $1.30 to $58.12 per barrel.

“What we are seeing now is a short term reaction to the weather in the United States, which is expected to be a bit warmer this week,” Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish said.

Fimat analyst Mike Fitzpatrick said demand for heating was expected to be about 30 per cent below its normal level for this time of year this week because of warmer temperatures.

Weighing also on prices were comments by Opec’s acting Secretary-General Adnan Shihab-Eldin, who said in Moscow on Monday the 11-member cartel’s spare oil capacity stood at 2.0 million barrels per day — more than enough to cover demand during the northern hemisphere winter.—AFP