Crude oil futures remained higher during mid-afternoon trade in Asia Thursday, supported by the US-China trade deal optimism and bullish US crude inventory data. At 1:52 pm in Singapore (0552 GMT), the front-month ICE Brent February crude futures were up 24 cents/b (0.36%) from Tuesday’s settle at $67.44/b, while the front-month NYMEX February light sweet crude futures contract was 23 cents/b (0.38%) higher at $61.34/b. According to media reports quoting data released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute, US crude inventories were down 7.9 million barrels for the week ended December 20. “Global indices futures generally saw minimal gains this morning, amid the ongoing festive season, where traditionally, thin trading volume is observed,” said Samuel Siew, investment analyst at Phillip Futures. “On the Sino-US trade front, the rosy mood has been maintained, and […]