LONDON, Jan 8: World oil prices sank on Monday, hitting a fresh 2005 low in London, as dealers focussed on mild weather in the United States despite forecasts of a cold snap. In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for February delivery fell to $54.41 per barrel -- last seen on November 30, 2005. Brent later stood at $55.18, down 46 cents from Friday's close.New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, showed a loss of 61 cents at $55.70 per barrel in floor trading.

Crude futures had also slumped last week owing to falling US demand for heating fuel, which has been sparked by unseasonally mild winter weather.

“We're starting to hear that it's going to be very cold. The ten-day forecast is saying that the (US) northeast is going to get much colder,” said Investec analyst Bruce Evers.

Earlier on Monday, prices had traded in positive territory in a technical move following last week's heavy losses. Analysts did not rule out support from news of disruptions to Russian oil exports.

“Prices did sort of rally rather aggressively this morning but ... perhaps there wasn't as much substance to the rally than people thought,” added Evers.—AFP