Crude oil futures were lower during mid-morning trade in Asia Friday amid ongoing global growth concerns as market participants waited for fresh cues to provide prices some direction. At 11:10 am Singapore time (0310 GMT), ICE March Brent crude futures were down 28 cents/b (0.45%) from Thursday's settle at $61.40/b, while the NYMEX February light sweet crude contract was 11 cents/b (0.21%) lower at $52.48/b. "The US government shutdown and weak retail sales figures around the world reinvigorated concerns about growth," ANZ analysts said in a note Friday. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics data ... (full story)