Crude-oil futures staged a minor rebound in Asian trading hours Thursday on positive Chinese manufacturing data, but gains are likely to be capped by rising U.S. oil stockpiles and weak demand fundamentals. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at $97.40 a barrel at 0627 GMT, up $0.54 in the Globex electronic session. December Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.04 to $107.84 a barrel. The preliminary HSBC China Manufacturing PMI, a gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity, rose to a seven-month high of 50.9 in October compared with a final reading of 50.2 in September, data showed Thursday. A figure above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction. “The figure denotes continuous expansion in economic activities in China. This will buoy demand for crude oil, which has a positive impact on crude-oil prices,” analyst Tan Chee […]