Crude oil futures ended lower on Thursday after eight straight days of gains. There is speculation that Saudi Arabia might consider reducing output by less than 1 million barrels per day. Meanwhile. a report from the European Commission, which said in its interim Winter forecast that the near-term outlook for the euro area looks weaker than expected last autumn, as the pandemic tightened its grip on the region. EC expects the euro area to grow 3.8% this year, instead of 4.2% projected previously. The outlook for 2022 was raised to 3.8% from 3%.
Crude oil futures for March fell $0.44 or 0.8 percent to settle at $58.24 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. April Brent crude dropped $0.60 or 0.98 to settle at $60.87 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.