Oil prices buoyed by Saudi warning

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, driven up by tightening U.S. inventories and a warning from the Saudi energy minister that raised the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts, reports Reuters.

Brent crude futures rose $1.39, or 1.81 per cent, to $78.23 a barrel by 1333 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) gained $1.44, or 1.98 per cent, to $74.35.

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 (OPEC) and allies including Russia, a group 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."

Also boosting oil prices was industry data showing that US crude oil and fuel inventories fell sharply.

Crude inventories fell by about 6.8 million barrels last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute (API) figures. Gasoline inventories dropped by about 6.4 million barrels.