Oil Futures Sink Back Toward $50 a Barrel

Oil futures settled with a more than 5% loss on Tuesday, ahead of weekly reports that are expected to show a further increase in U.S. crude supplies. March crude fell $2.84 to settle at $50.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The American Petroleum Institute will release its supply report later Tuesday, followed by the Energy Information Administration early Wednesday. Analysts polled by Platts expect the reports to show a climb of 3.4 million barrels in crude stockpiles for the week ended Feb. 6.