Oil prices edged higher on Thursday and Brent hit the highest level this year, but gains were capped after the steepest decline in U.S. retail spending since 2009 heightened investor fears of a global economic slowdown. U.S. financial markets opened lower and global stock markets erased broad gains after retail sales in the world’s largest economy recorded their biggest drop in more than nine years in December. The U.S. economy’s outlook was further dimmed by other data showing an unexpected increase in the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits last week. “Oil prices sold off in reaction to the very weak retail sales data in the U.S. that drove selling across-the-board,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again […]