US crude oil futures settled above $54 a barrel on Monday, to a five month high, on renewed optimism about an economic recovery. Upbeat US housing and construction data fuelled hopes that the US economy is stabilising. Meanwhile encouraging data from China also gave investors fresh hopes of a recovery. The US and China are the world’s two biggest oil consumers. US light crude oil for June delivery settled up $1.27 at $54.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Among precious metals gold broke the psychologically important $900 an ounce level, helped by the weaker dollar. The greenback fell against major currencies following the upbeat economic data. COMEX gold for June delivery rose $14 to settle at $902.20 an ounce. July silver rose 61.3 cents to $13.113 an ounce while July copper added 4.3 cents to $2.144 a pound.

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