LONDON, Jan 21: Oil prices fell on Monday as investors banked profits following gains last week. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March dropped 41 cents to $111.48 in late London trading.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February, shed 42 cents to $95.14 a barrel in electronic deals, with US physical markets closed for a public holiday in the world’s biggest economy and oil consumer.

“The current week promises to be fairly volatile, with a lot of attention on temperatures in Europe amid the ongoing cold snap, while players in the US will be absent on Monday owing to a public holiday,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, analyst at VTB Capital financial group.

Crude futures had risen last week, supported by the deadly violence in energy exporter Algeria, better-than-expected Chinese economic data and signs of improving crude demand in the United States, traders said.—AFP