Oil prices were steady today after a fall on Friday dented a rally to nine-month highs.
Milder weather in the northeast United States was expected to soften demand for heating fuel but traders remained cautious on the level of winter oil stocks cover for the world's biggest oil consumer.
US crude oil futures were down 12 cents at $32.90 a barrel on Monday, more than $1 off Friday's highs. Brent crude in London was five cents up at $30.10 a barrel.
Traders said the longer-term upward trend of the market which started in late-November remained in place, and that some of Friday's losses were a result of speculators taking profits.
"It's a temporary adjustment and the market is not stuck in a downtrend," said Mr Shun Maruyama, an oil analyst at UFJ Institute Ltd.
Forecasts for a cold December in the US, particularly in the key northeast heating oil market, have helped fuel the market's steady upward climb.
The market was also kept jittery by uncertainty over what OPEC may do when it next meets in February after prices have risen 25 per cent since the producer cartel in September decided to cut supply by 3.5 per cent.
Some OPEC ministers have warned the cartel may cut supply again in February on fears of a surplus glut once demand declines after the northern winter.