Crude oil in New York rose above $60 a barrel on Monday on signs OPEC may cut production for the second time in two months as peak U.S. winter demand approaches.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may trim output next month if November's 1.2 million barrel-a-day cut fails to ``stabilize'' prices, London-based Al-Hayat reported yesterday, citing Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi. Gold, copper and corn gained as a slide in the U.S. dollar made commodities cheaper for consumers outside the U.S.

``OPEC has to cut production to sustain the prices,'' said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures Ltd. in Tokyo. ``The crude oil price is tracking the metals and even the grain markets.''

Crude oil for January delivery climbed as much as 96 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $60.20 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $60.18 a barrel at 2:24 p.m. in Singapore.

The contract last settled at $59.24 on Nov. 22, before floor trading shut for Thanksgivings Day on Nov. 23 for two days In after-hours electronic trading since Nov. 22, prices ranged between $58.66 and $60.17.

OPEC, which produces about 40 percent of the world's oil, agreed last month to cut output, citing slowing demand growth and rising stockpiles. The group will discuss supplies at a Dec. 14 meeting in Abuja, Nigeria.

In London, Brent crude oil for January settlement rose as much as 40 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $60.43 a barrel in electronic trading on the ICE Futures Exchange at 2:16 p.m. Singapore time.

Mild weather this winter has trimmed demand and contributed to ``very high'' global inventories, Qatar's Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said in New Delhi on Nov. 24.

The U.S. is the world's biggest oil consumer. Supplies there jumped to 341.1 million barrels on Nov. 17, 14 percent above the five-year average for the period, the U.S. Energy Department said last week.

Temperatures in the nation's Northeast, the biggest heating oil consuming region, will be above normal this week, forecaster Meteorlogix LLC said yesterday. Heating demand in New York City will be 36 percent below average.

``We're feeling more and more range-bound,'' said Tobin Gorey, commodity analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney. ``The key thing this time of year is demand from cold weather, and it just hasn't been cold.''

January oil futures have traded between $57.80 and $63.21 so far this month. Sustained weakness in the U.S. dollar should lift the lower end of that range going into the OPEC meeting, Gorey said.