US light crude futures rebounded on Tuesday after Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said to increase crude supplies to the market would be "destructive".
Naimi, oil minister for Opec's biggest producer, said Opec had already ordered a cut to its supplies to the market in April.
Naimi made his comments in Vienna ahead of Wednesday's Opec ministerial meeting to review production policy.
The group agreed in February to cut its official production limits by one million barrels per day (bpd) from April 1.
"As far as Saudi Arabia is concerned April 1 has been implemented and I believe others have done so as well," Naimi told reporters.
"Throwing more oil on the market, because of prices where they are today, would be destructive," he said.
US light crude oil for May delivery rose 13 cents to $35.58 a barrel. On Wednesday, the Nymex crude contract traded at as low as $35.25 a barrel on uncertainty over whether Opec would carry through the output cut plan.
"The market is certainly responding to the Saudi comment and it is likely to rebound (further)," said Tony Nunan, manager at the international petroleum business of Mitsubishi Corp.
The Nymex prompt crude contract market will reach $37, the level before March 25, Nunan said. On March 25, the Nymex May crude tumbled from $37.00 a barrel to $35.51.
London's IPE May Brent crude was at $31.76 a barrel, up two cents, after hitting an intraday low of $31.52.
Opec has been under pressure from consuming nations to reverse or postpone the output cut to cool red-hot oil prices, which in the United States struck a 13-year closing high two weeks ago.
Opec producers had been divided on Monday over whether or not to bow to demands from oil consuming nations.
Some traders were earlier pulling out their net longs because of an expected increase in US oil inventories last week.
On Wednesday, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release US weekly petroleum inventory data showing the health of US fuel supplies.
A Reuters survey of eight analysts forecast an average build of 1.9 million barrels in US commercial crude stocks in the week ended March 26.
In the week ended March 19, US refiners had 288.6 million barrels of crude in inventory, 7.5 million barrels up from the previous week.
Nymex April gasoline, which expires on Wednesday, was at $1.1125 a gallon, down 0.59 cent, while Nymex April heating oil was up 0.08 cent at 88.55 cents a gallon.
On the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM), the benchmark August crude contract stood at 19,050 yen per kilolitre (yen/kl).
TOCOM October gasoline was 60 yen down at 28,470 yen/kl while the October kerosene traded at 28,940 yen/kl, up 280 yen.
TOCOM October gas oil was 110 yen down at 27,310 yen/kl.
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