Oil futures tallied a weekly gain, finding support Friday from Russia’s plan to cut its oil output by 500,000 barrels per day in March after Western nations implemented price caps on its crude and crude-oil products. Most analysts have “already penciled in” Russian oil production falling by 700,000 to 900,000 barrels per day in 2023, said Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth US. “The key for crude to break out of its current trading range is Chinese demand recovery,” she said. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery CLH23 rose $1.66, or 2.1%, to settle at $79.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, prices for the front-month contract gained 8.6%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
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