Crude oil futures advanced on Monday as traders mulled a mixed bag of economic data and after an OPEC official said oil prices are expected to remain stable through 2013.

Oil prices were supported by the latest figures from the Commerce Department which showed December US durable goods orders rose 4.6% from the month before, much bigger than forecasts of a 2% rise.

However fresh housing data from the world's biggest oil consumer disappointed. The National Association of Realtors' said its pending homes sales index fell 4.3% last month.

Crude for March delivery beefed up 56 cents to settle at $96.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Also giving oil prices a lift were comments from OPEC's secretary-general Abdalla Salem el-Badri who said there shouldn't be any concern about a collapse of oil prices in 2013 and expects oil prices to remain stable.

Over on the ICE futures exchange, Brent for March delivery gained 20 cents to settle at $113.48 a barrel.

Among precious metals gold continued its downward march, with futures settling lower for the fourth consecutive session, as the stronger dollar and mixed US economic data eroded appetite for the yellow metal.

Bullion for February delivery retreated $3.70 to settle at $1,652.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.



CJ

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