Oil halted a three-day decline to trade near $45 a barrel in New York as Saudi Arabia predicted that low prices will spur fuel demand growth. West Texas Intermediate futures rose as much as 1.2 percent after falling 7.5 percent through the three days ended Friday. Demand will soon reflect the “attractiveness” of current price levels, according to Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister. The global market will return to balance next year as demand climbs and supplies outside OPEC falter, the group’s secretary general Abdalla El-Badri, said in Doha. Oil has slumped 42 percent the past year amid speculation the global oversupply will persist as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries continues to pump more than its collective quota. While China’s crude imports fell to about 6.23 million barrels a day in October, the lowest level in five months, purchases were more than 9 percent higher than the […]