2021.03.0409:21:00UTC+00Oil Prices Ease Ahead Of OPEC+ Meeting

Oil prices fell slightly on Thursday as investors await the OPEC+ decision later today whether to freeze oil output or raise it slightly from April.

A record jump in U.S. crude oil stocks following Texan refinery outages also weighed on prices.

Brent crude for May settlement slipped 0.2 percent to $63.95 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 0.4 percent at $60.98.

Amid renewed concerns over the fragility of economic recovery, expectations remain high that OPEC+ producers might decide against increasing output.

Russia has been insisting on raising output while Saudi Arabia, OPEC's de facto leader, continues to urge caution while apparently seeking even higher prices.

Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported a hefty increase of more than 21 million barrels in last week's U.S. crude inventories as refining plunged to a record low due to the Texas freeze that shut production.

At the same time, there were significant declines in petroleum-product inventories.