Oil rose again on Tuesday on expectations that a cold spell in the US northeast this weekend would boost demand in the world's biggest heating oil market.
US crude climbed 13 cents at $US60.45 a barrel by 1740 GMT after trading as high as $US61.20 in earlier activity, adding to gains of $US1.08 on Monday. London Brent crude rose 24 cents to $60.68.
Despite the rally, oil remained stuck in a two-month trading rut of $US58-$US62 a barrel and showed few signs of resuming a climb back toward a record high of $US78.40 a barrel in mid-July.
The National Weather Service said on Monday US heating demand this week would be about 24% below normal. NYMEX heating oil futures rose 0.6% on Tuesday.
Dollar weaker
The market also found support from a weaker dollar, which traded near a 20-month low against the euro.
The market is also looking ahead to an OPEC meeting on December 14 that could result in a further output cut. OPEC agreed at an emergency meeting in October to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day.