Market participants had speculated that the Saudi energy minister’s remarks about speculators could be a sign that the OPEC+ alliance could discuss further production cuts at a meeting scheduled for June 4.
Rising oil prices also came in, supported by data showing a sharp drop in crude oil and fuel inventories in the United States.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed crude inventories fell 6.8 million barrels in the week ending May 19, and gasoline inventories fell 6.4 million barrels .
And if data from the US Energy Information Administration confirmed the drop on Wednesday, it would mean US gasoline inventories fell for the third week in a row, to their lowest levels for this time of year since 2014. .
Market movements
Brent crude futures rose $1.19, or 1.55%, to $78.03 a barrel at 10:43 GMT, while Nymex crude rose $1.23, or 1, 69%, to reach $74.15 a barrel.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
