Crude oil retakes $97 plateau

NEW YORK, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices topped $97 per barrel in New York Tuesday despite a drop in durable goods orders for December.

Extended winter temperatures are propping up energy prices, even in the face of disappointing economic data.

Durable goods orders dropped 4.3 percent in December. Economists had predicted a rise of 1.8 percent.

Light, sweet West Texas Intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange added $1.60 to hit $97.32 per barrel.

Gasoline gained 0.8 cents to reach $2.6297 a gallon.

Home heating oil added 2.72 cents to hit $3.1196 a gallon.

Natural gas gained 18 cents to reach $5.03 per million British thermal units.

The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline dropped to $3.279 per gallon from Monday's $3.2825, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.