Crude oil futures ended slightly lower on Monday after seesawing as the market sought to consolidate after dropping below $60 last week for the first time since May. Concerns about economic recovery continued to help pressure oil markets that also have been weighed by high inventories and tepid demand. NYMEX Natural gas futures also lost ground, as fairly mild Northeast and Midwest weather forecasts, record high storage and weaker crude prices continued to pressure the complex.

The world's benchmark Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) export route from the Middle East Gulf to Japan fell to W32.84 from W47.94 last week, sliding to a five-week low. VLCC rates from the Gulf to the United States were at W25.00 from W33.27 last week, also hitting a five-week low.

Nigeria's main rebel group said on Monday it sabotaged a loading dock for oil tankers in Lagos state. U. S. crude oil inventories likely fell last week for the sixth straight week, a survey of nine analysts on Monday showed ahead of weekly inventory data.

The U. S. National Hurricane Center said 0n Monday that it did not expect any tropical development for the next 48 hours. AccuWeather. com expects temperatures in the Northeast and Midwest, key gas consuming regions, to remain below normal for the next two weeks, with highs mostly ranging from the high-70s to low-80s Fahrenheit area.

It seems that after a bear rally from $73 to $59, crude oil may edge higher during the day. Today evening better than expected retail sales data may also lead to increased optimism in financial market and the bias is on upside for the day.