Crude-oil futures were higher in Asian hours Wednesday as prices got a boost from an American Petroleum Institute report showing U.S. stocks fell by 7.3 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 3. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February traded at $93.98 a barrel at 0606 GMT, up $0.31 in the Globex electronic session. February Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.08 to $107.43 a barrel. “Despite ongoing strong crude production in the U.S. due to the shale oil and gas boom, the continuous fall in stockpiles denote strong demand for the commodity,” said Singapore-based Phillip Futures analyst Tan Chee Tat. Crude-oil prices are also supported by cold weather in the U.S., he added. Mr. Tan added the focus currently is on Libyan production following the reopening of the al-Sharara oilfield, one of the country’s largest, over the weekend. […]