OPEC+ producers send conflicting messages ahead of June policy meeting

OPEC+ producers send conflicting messages ahead of June policy meeting

Top OPEC producers and their main allies have given a raft of conflicting messages about next oil policy moves, making it particularly difficult to predict the outcome of the next OPEC+ meeting in early June.

Remarks by Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the de-facto leader of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), warning short sellers to "watch out" pushed the market up by as much as 2%.

Tuesday's comments by the prince were interpreted by some investors as a signal that OPEC+, OPEC and its allies led by Russia, could consider further output cuts when it meets on June 4 in Vienna.

Short sellers are investors that bet on oil prices falling, and hence when an unexpected move by OPEC+ to cut production causes a rally, they are forced to close their positions at a loss.

Just a week before Prince Abdulaziz's comment, Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to be on the same page saying that oil production cuts were required to maintain a certain price level.

Thought contradictory to assurances from other leaders of the OPEC+ group of producers that it was not seeking to manage the market in a way to target particular prices, the comments did suggest a