Crude oil rose in New York on forecasts that most of the U.S. will be colder than normal next week and a report that Saudi Arabia's oil minister said OPEC may cut output at a meeting next month.

Below-normal temperatures will cover most of the U.S. from Dec. 2 through Dec. 6, boosting heating demand, the National Weather Service said. Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may agree to cut oil production for a second time in the fourth quarter at a meeting in Nigeria next month, Al-Hayat newspaper reported.

``Prices will be supported this week by forecasts that most of the U.S. will be engulfed by an Arctic air mass,'' said John Kilduff, vice president of risk management at Fimat USA in New York. ``This should perk demand for heating fuel. We are paying a modicum of attention to the Saudi statements about an OPEC production cut.''

Crude oil for January delivery rose 51 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $59.75 a barrel at 10:01 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are up 4.2 percent from a year ago.

``The market is still treading water as we wait for the arrival of cold weather,'' said Jason Schenker, an economist with Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina. ``As demand for distillate fuel grows toward the end of the year we should see prices rise to $60 to $65 a barrel.''

Home-heating demand in the Northeast will be 39 percent below normal through Dec. 1, said Weather Derivatives, a Belton, Missouri-based forecaster. The region is responsible for 80 percent of the country's heating-oil use.

`A Sharp Reversal'

``The East should stay well above normal through the week,'' said Joel Burgio, a forecaster for Meteorlogix LLC in Lexington, Massachusetts. ``We'll see a sharp reversal next week when below- normal temperatures move into the Northeast. The Midwest will get cold a few days earlier, with a chance of rain turning to snow in Chicago and Detroit on Friday and Saturday.''

OPEC agreed last month to cut output by 1.2 million barrels a day starting Nov. 1 to stem a three-month slide in prices.

Brent crude oil for January settlement declined 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $59.84 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange.