Crude oil futures settled marginally lower on Tuesday as traders were weighing the supply position amid reports shale oil producers in the southern United States could take at least a couple of weeks to restart the more than 2 million barrels per day of crude output that was shut down because of a deep freeze. The oil market is also looking ahead to the upcoming meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies.
Crude oil futures for April lost 3 cents or nearly 0.1 percent to settle at $61.67 barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However, April Brent crude rose 13 cents or 0.2 percent to settle at $65.37 a barrel on London's Intercontinental Exchange.