Crude oil prices turned lower Friday, reversing an advance as traders took profits from strong weekly gains.
April West Texas Intermediate crude fell 29 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $32.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Still, prices were up 3 percent for the week, bolstered by talk of a deal between Saudi Arabia and other major producers to freeze oil output at January levels.
“At the moment the best possible feasible proposal is to freeze at the level of production of January,” Qatar’s energy minister, Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada told CNN.
“We think [a production freeze] will gather more and more approval because it is [in] the interest of all parties.”
Meanwhile, Baker Hughes said the US active oil rig count continued to drop near 500, and Halliburton is said to be cutting thousands of jobs.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com