Crude oil prices declined Wednesday due to a drop in U.S. demand for heating oil as mild weather dominated the country.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, fell 76 cents to 60.34 dollars per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for February delivery fell 58 cents to 60.52 dollars per barrel.

Crude oil and natural gas prices plunged sharply Tuesday despite Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh said Iran reserves the right to resort to oil as a weapon.

Iran, the world's fourth-largest crude producer, has condemned the UN resolution as illegal and vowed to speed up enrichment work.

However, traders disregard the latest developments unless they saw evidence of supply disruptio