The NYMEX February crude futures contract settled lower Friday, but the close was firmer than looked likely early in the New York afternoon following the release of the weekly US rig count data. Front-month NYMEX crude settled 43 cents lower at $48.36/barrel Friday after trading as low as $47.16/b. The ICE February Brent futures contract ended Friday down 85 cents at $50.11/b, but managed to settle above the psychological mark of $50/b, rebounding from an intraday low of $48.90/b. The difference between ICE Brent and NYMEX crude narrowed 42 cents to settle at $1.75/b, its smallest margin since August 2013. The spread has been shrinking since December 18 when it stood at $5.16/b. “North America has backed out enough imports to put pressure on Atlantic Basic crude, narrowing the spread,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. “Enough pipeline space also exists […]