CRUDE SLIDES WITH TEXAS OIL WELLS RESTARTING OUTPUT

Oil fell to the lowest in a week as output slowly resumed in Texas, while margins for processing gasoline surged as Gulf Coast refineries are seen taking weeks to restart operations after the deep freeze. Crude futures in New York plunged to US$59.24, down 2.1 per cent or US$1.28 on Friday, its biggest decline in dollar terms since late December. Producers including Marathon Oil Corp. are using restored power from grids or generators to resume output that was halted by the frigid weather this week in the Eagle Ford shale basin. U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil rigs operating for the first time since November, according to Baker Hughes data. Texas refiners halted about a fifth of the nation's oil processing amid power outages and severe cold.