Oil Prices Firm On Monday

Oil prices held steady on Monday, as worries over weaker U.S. fuel demand balanced the continued loss of supplies from the Gulf of Mexico and strike-hit French refineries.

U.S. crude oil futures were unchanged at $61.84 a barrel, after settling 48 cents higher on Friday.

In London Brent crude eased 6 cents to $59.15 a barrel on the IPE.

Prices slid to a nine-week low of $60.70 on Thursday after U.S. government data showed lower gasoline demand in the United States, the world's top energy consumer, though they remained 42 percent up from the start of the year.
U.S. demand for the motor fuel will be about 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) lower than initially forecast for at least the next couple of weeks because of high pump prices unleashed by recent storms, the U.S. government said last week.

"People will start to pay attention to peak (winter) demand looming, with heating oil a worry," said David Thurtell, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank in Sydney. "If prices get any lower it could be a buying opportunity."

Traders are also watching for the possible end to French strikes that have cut refinery output in the country, a major fuel supplier to the U.S. and Europe.