Crude Under Pressure, Closing In On $30 a Barrel

U.S. and Brent crude prices threatened to again push below the $30-a-barrel levels on Friday, as the commodity came under renewed selling pressure. More than reversing a 2.4% gain from Thursday, February crude dropped $1.09, or 3.5%, to $30.12 a barrel. Brent crude for the same month dropped 70 cents, or 2.3%, to $30.18 a barrel. Losses for crude came as China stocks slipped into one definition of a bear-market -- a 20% drop from a recent high. The pressure was also on U.S. stock futures, which pointed to a difficult open for Wall Street.