Oil edged higher after a punishing week as traders weighed up the outlook for global demand amid mounting recessionary concerns. West Texas Intermediate rose above $79 a barrel in early Asian trade after collapsing by more than 7% last week to post the lowest close since mid-January. The decline was the US benchmark’s fourth consecutive weekly drop, the longest losing run this year. Crude is on track for its first quarterly loss in more than two years as top central banks including the Federal Reserve raise interest rates aggressively, hurting the outlook for energy demand and sapping investors’ appetite for risk. ... (full story)