Brent crude-oil futures ticked higher in London Friday, boosted by strong Chinese demand data, but the trend remains to the downside with both Brent and WTI having settled Thursday at multi-month lows. Brent crude for February delivery rose 33 cents to $106.72 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. U.S. crude-oil futures were 80 cents, or 0.9%, higher at $92.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In the previous session the North American contract settled at an eight-month low, and Brent at a two-month low. WTI has lost $6 since the last trading day of 2013; Brent has lost almost $4 in the same period. Brent gained support from positive Chinese import data. China’s crude-oil imports in December rose to a record high on a daily basis, although for the year as a whole the country’s crude import growth slowed by 4% from 6.8% in 2012. Net imports […]