By Cassie Werber LONDON--Crude oil prices were Monday trading below the two-week highs seen Friday, with low volumes evident as the holiday period approached. Brent crude for February delivery was down 25 cents, or 0.2%, to $111.52 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude oil futures for February were down 35 cents a barrel, or 0.4%, at $98.93 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Violence in South Sudan, an east African oil producer, continued to intensify. The worsening situation could prevent oil exports from ramping up to the maximum 350,000 barrels a day possible. Libya, another important oil producer in the North of Africa, is also experiencing ongoing problems exporting crude. Tension in the two states is providing some support to the Brent price by tightening supply. JBC Energy noted that several plans to drill for oil in Arctic waters are facing delays, including Eni SpA's (E) Goliat project in the Barents Sea, and Statoil ASA's (STO) development of the Johan Castberg field. Due to these delays and other cost increases and lower recovery estimates, "it will be hard for Norway to reach its targeted output and reverse the high decline rates seen over recent years," JBC wrote. Recently, the ICE's gasoil contract for January delivery was up 50 cents at $945.75 a metric ton, while Nymex gasoline for January delivery was down 128 points at $2.7703 a gallon.

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