Oil slipped today amid robust stockpiles in consumer nations after a mild start to winter, resuming a sell-off that has cut 16% from prices since the start of the year.
Dealers said a burst of chilly weather in the US Northeast, the world's biggest heating oil market, was limiting crude's losses but uncertainly remained over how long the cold would linger.
US crude was down 71 cents to $51.28 a barrel after having risen above $53 earlier in the session. London Brent was down 78 cents to $52.66.
Oil prices have lost nearly 35% from peaks near $80 a barrel hit last summer.
Temperatures in the US Northeast, however, were expected to average below normal for the next six-to-10 days. The dip in temperatures comes after record warmth in December and a mild start to January.
A US Government report last week showed a 6.8 million barrel rise in US crude stocks.
