LONDON—Oil prices rose on Wednesday following a warning from the Saudi energy minister to speculators raised the prospect of further OPEC+ output cuts.
Brent crude futures rose $1.09, or 1.42 percent, to $77.93 a barrel by 1048 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) gained $1.14, or 1.56 percent, to $74.05 a barrel.
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister 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 senior market analyst Craig Erlam.
“(But) if past experience is anything to go by, traders may be tempted to call his bluff.”
The Memorial Day holiday in the United States, this year on May 29, traditionally marks the beginning of U.S. peak summer travel and higher fuel demand.
Weighing on broader markets, another round of debt ceiling talks ended on Tuesday with no signs of progress as the deadline to raise the government’s borrowing limit or risk default ticked closer.
Price rises were also capped by news that Britain’s stubbornly high inflation rate fell by less than expected last month, according to official data that raised the chances of more interest rate hikes.
