Brent crude-oil prices ticked higher Thursday, holding above $111 a barrel after the European benchmark contract ended 2013 with a couple of days of losses. Trading volumes remained subdued, with many still away from their desks for the New Year holiday. Brent crude for February delivery rose 33 cents to $111.13 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil futures were up 37 cents, or 0.4%, at $98.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent remains underpinned by uncertainty over supply from Libya, where exports have been restricted by civil strife, and from South Sudan, where heavy fighting between the president’s forces and rebel troops has shut down about 15% of the country’s production. Slowing momentum in factory activity in China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, put a lid on prices. China’s official purchasing manager’s index, released Wednesday, was at 51.0, down from 51.4 in the previous […]