NEW YORK–Crude-oil futures settled slightly higher Friday as traders balanced hints of improving oil demand with lofty inventories. Prices dropped by a single penny in the week, underscoring the standoff between the conflicting elements. U.S. oil inventory data in the week showed bigger-than-expected declines in gasoline inventories and in inventories of diesel fuel and heating. Implied demand figures from the Energy Information Administration showed oil use in the world’s biggest oil consumer topped 20 million barrels a day for a second straight week. That was the strongest showing since January 2009. But some analysts dismissed signs of gains in heating oil use as reflecting typical pre-season residential deliveries and expect the figure to drop in coming weeks. The EIA also reported that crude oil stocks stand at their highest end-October level since 1930, keeping prices depressed. Light, sweet crude oil for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange […]