Crude prices were lower in Asian trade Monday ahead of an Opec meeting later this week where the oil cartel is expected to announce another round of production cuts, dealers said.

At 2:25 pm (0620 GMT), New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January delivery was 33 cents lower at 61.70 US dollars a barrel from its close of 62.03 in the United States Friday.

Brent North Sea crude for January delivery was 22 cents lower at 61.98 dollars a barrel.

"There is a fair bit of anticipation in the market that Opec is going to cut output," said Tobin Gorey, a commodities analyst with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.