Oil Rallies on Saudi Comments

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after data showed US inventories and fuel supplies tightening after a warning from the Saudi energy minister to speculators raised the prospect of further OPEC+ output cuts.
Brent crude futures rose 88 cents, or 1.2%, to $77.72 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 98 cents, or 1.3%, to $73.89 a barrel, Money.usnews.com reported.
Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said short sellers - those betting that prices will fall - should "watch out" for pain.
Some investors took that as a signal that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, including Russia, also known as OPEC+, could consider further output cuts at a meeting on June 4.
"Oil prices are trading higher ... buoyed by the latest short-seller warning from Saudi Arabia," said OANDA market analyst Craig Erlam.
"But if past experience is anything to go by, traders may be tempted to call his bluff."
Also boosting oil prices was industry data that showed US crude oil and fuel inventories fell sharply.
Crude inventories were down by about 6.8 million barrels last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Gasoline inventories dropped by about 6.4 million. If data from the Energy Information Administration, due on Wednesday, confirm these figures, US gasoline inventories would have declined for the third consecutive week.