Crude oil prices fell slightly Monday, as mild U.S. weather forecasts and resumed oil production in Iraq and Nigeria calmed some worries about fuel supplies.

The possibility of future production cuts by OPEC, however, kept a floor under prices.

Light sweet crude for January delivery fell 17 cents to settle at $58.80 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after slipping as low as $57.97.

On Friday, the December light sweet crude contract closed at $55.81 a barrel. It was the lowest settlement for the front-month crude contract since June 15, 2005. Friday was the last day for trading in the December contract.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is scheduled to meet in Nigeria on Dec. 14, announced an output cut of 1.2 million barrels a day last month. They may make further cuts on their next meeting.

Alaron Trading Corp. analyst Phil Flynn pointed out that the January contract is currently $3 higher than the just-expired December contract. "That makes me think the market believes OPEC production cuts are going to happen," he said.

At this point, though, traders are still holding back.

"We're in effect taunting OPEC with the lower prices. We're more or less daring them to cut output further. The market wants to induce OPEC to cut, and then everybody will reverse to the long side of the market, and see how high they can spike it," said Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 0.19 cent to $1.1.6708 a gallon, while gasoline futures rose 1.32 cent to $1.5543 a gallon. Natural gas futures fell 16 cents to $8.019 per 1,000 cubic feet.

While U.S. crude supplies remain ample, inventories of gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel have been on the decline for the past few weeks. That means the market could switch gears at any moment and bounce higher on tight supplies, Evans noted.

"Sentiment is a fickle thing _ it can change dramatically, much more quickly than the fundamentals themselves can change," Evans said.

Flynn noted that trading this week is light, due mainly to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, and that light volumes can create choppy movement.

"Expect the unexpected for the rest of the week," Flynn said. "It might take just one story, bullish or bearish, to drive the market much higher or much lower."

On Sunday, Iraq began pumping oil out of a pipeline that had been suspended for a month. The pipeline is located in the north, where millions of barrels of oil have been blocked in this year due to sabotage.

Meanwhile, Italian oil company Eni SPA said it intended to restart production at one of its pumping stations in Nigeria, after a two-week armed siege ended Sunday.