Oil futures settled with a loss on Thursday, weighed down by speculation that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, together known as OPEC+, may decide at an early March meeting to boost crude production. A fourth straight weekly decline in U.S. crude supplies and ongoing energy production issues tied to frigid temperatures in Texas failed to provide lasting support to prices in Thursday’s session. March West Texas Intermediate crude
CLH21,
fell 62 cents, or 1%, to settle at $60.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.