Oil prices stable, close to $124

Crude prices steadied Tuesday as the market looked ahead to the publication later this week of growth data in the United States the world's leading consumer of oil. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in June rose 14 cents to $123.80 a barrel in London trade following a four-day Easter break. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for June, fell 30 cents to $111.98 a barrel. It had reached a 2.5-year high of $113.48 on Monday. Traders were awaiting Thursday's publication of US gross domestic product (GDP) data for the first three months of 2011, which is key to future energy demand in the world's biggest economy.