Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell on speculation U.S. fuel supplies are adequate and that Iranian shipments will be unaffected by a dispute over the country's nuclear program.

U.S. inventories of crude oil, heating oil, diesel and gasoline in the week ended Feb. 9 were above the five-year average, the Energy Department said. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said his country will purse nuclear work as a United Nations deadline for Iran to halt its program approached. Iran holds the world's second-largest oil and natural-gas reserves.

``We are amply supplied as far as the crude market is concerned,'' said James Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois. ``The geopolitical premium continues to slowly erode.''

Crude oil for April delivery fell 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $58.56 a barrel at 10:28 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices are down 4.2 percent from a year ago.

Brent crude oil for April settlement fell 10 cents to $57.88 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange.

The U.S. East Coast will be covered by above-normal temperatures from Feb. 26 to March 2, the National Weather Service said.

``Any concerns about the heating season have dissipated because it looks like the weather will be seasonable from here on out,'' said Michael Fitzpatrick, vice president for energy risk management at Fimat USA in New York. ``It's a long way from an actual cut in Iranian supply because of all of the economic problems they have.''

The UN Security Council voted Dec. 23 to impose sanctions on Iran over its atomic program, including a ban on the acquisition of materials and technology that might be used to build nuclear weapons. The UN also froze the assets of individuals and groups associated with the program and gave Iran 60 days to halt uranium enrichment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 21, 2007 10:37 EST