Oil futures firmed on Friday, consolidating gains ahead of a weekend meeting of major oil-producing countries for a deal to cut production. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.5% to $54.17 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures rose 0.8% to $51.24 a barrel. Oil prices surged above $50 a barrel last week after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries committed to a 1.2 million barrel a day cut, equivalent to around 1% of global output. Traders and analysts are now awaiting the outcome of a meeting between OPEC members and oil producers from outside the cartel , including Russia. OPEC is hoping to get big producers outside the cartel to cut a further 600,000 barrels a day. Russia has indicated it will take on half that burden. Analysts warned that as production has declined in many […]