Oil prices held near $78 a barrel Monday in Asia, the Associated Press reported. Benchmark crude for February delivery was flat at $78.05 at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 1.1 cents to $2.05 while gasoline rose 1.1 cents to $2. Natural gas added 13.9 cents to $5.78 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude for February delivery rose 18 cents to $76.49 on the ICE Futures exchange.