Crude oil was little changed below $59 a barrel in New York after yesterday's biggest drop in 20 months as mild U.S. weather curbs fuel consumption. Home-heating demand in the Northeast, where 80 percent of U.S. heating-oil is used, will be 43 percent below normal through Jan. 10, forecaster Weather Derivatives said yesterday. Prices also fell on the expectation a U.S. government report will show fuel supplies gained last week. ``The weather will remain a wild card, driving the oil market,'' said Victor Shum, Senior Principal at Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore. ``The winter season has been relatively mild so far and that has been one of the push factors driving the drop in pricing yesterday.'' Crude oil for February delivery was trading at $58.33 a barrel, up 1 cent, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:45 p.m. in Singapore. Yesterday, the contract fell $2.73, or 4.5 percent, to $58.32 a barrel, the lowest since Nov. 17. The percentage drop was the biggest since April 27, 2005. Oil has dropped 7.6 percent from a year ago. U.S. fuel stockpiles probably rose last week. Stockpiles of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, rose 800,000 barrels from 133.6 million barrels the prior week.