The oil complex settled lower in low-volume, post-holiday US trade Friday, led by prompt NYMEX crude and ULSD futures. NYMEX January crude settled $1.33 lower at $41.71/b, while December ULSD settled 5.03 cents lower at $1.3524/gal. NYMEX December RBOB closed 56 points lower at $1.3905/gal. On ICE, January Brent crude futures settled 60 cents lower at $44.86/b. “Oil futures are lower as weak Chinese industrial data and a regulatory crackdown on Chinese stock brokers raises concern about oil demand,” Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn said in a morning note. Flynn cited a Reuters report that said China had urged brokerages to dial back OTC swap purchases. “On top of that, they started investigations into China’s biggest brokerage CITIC Securities and its smaller rival Guosen Securities,” Flynn said. Weakness in ULSD futures was largely expected, with US weather forecasts expected to show warmer-than-usual temperatures, according to a note from […]