•Global crude futures were trading within a narrow range Friday and on thin volumes ahead of the Christmas holiday season, market sources said.

•Western crude oil benchmarks have been trading in an increasingly tighter range as the week has progressed. The highest daily range this week was on Tuesday, when the front-month ICE Brent contract traded over a range of $3.56/b. In mid-morning European trading on December 21, the range was down to 54 cents.

•"It has been very quiet so far today," said a London-based trader. "It has hit a range--a very choppy one--but it is still a range. The market has been very thin so far."

Updated: December 21, 2007