By Colin Packham
SYDNEY, May 20 (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped as much as 1
percent on Monday after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih
indicated there was consensus among OPEC and allied oil
producers to continue limiting supplies.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $72.98 a barrel at 0009
GMT, up 77 cents, or 1.1%, from their last close. Brent closed
down 0.6% on Friday.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 were
at $63.39 per barrel, up 63 cents, or 1%, from their previous
settlement. WTI closed down 0.2% in the previous session.
The rally came after Falih said on Sunday there was a
consensus among Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries and other non-OPEC producers to drive down crude
inventories "gently", but his country would remain responsive to
the needs of what he called a fragile market. "This second half, our preference is to maintain production
management to keep inventories on their way declining gradually,
softly but certainly declining towards normal levels," he told a
news conference after a ministerial panel meeting.
OPEC, Russia and other non-member producers, an alliance
known as OPEC+, agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels
per day from Jan. 1 for six months, a deal designed to stop
inventories building up and prices weakening.