Reply #4: Oil sheds 1 percent on Saudi comments

[ozymandius]

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Oil tumbled more than 1 percent on Monday after Saudi Arabia's oil minister signaled satisfaction with market conditions and some Asian refiners reported a rise in anticipated Saudi supplies next month.

Ali al-Naimi, oil minister of the world's biggest exporter, and the cartel's most powerful voice, told the Wall Street Journal that the market was much healthier than before and that OPEC may not need to change output.

U.S. crude stood 53 cents lower at $59.36 a barrel at 0434 GMT, having fallen as much as 82 cents earlier in the day.

News late on Friday that production should resume soon at Occidental Petroleum Corp's Elk Hills oil and gas field in California added to the selloff, dealers said.

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