Saudi Arabia oil chief sees reason for optimism about demand rebound Crude-oil futures rose Wednesday, extending gains into a third session as rising global stocks and a jump in U.S. consumer confidence boosted hopes for an economic recovery and with it, a rebound in oil demand. Crude for July delivery rose 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $62.79 a barrel in early North American electronic trading. It had topped $63 a barrel for the first time in more than six months in overnight trading. The recent rise in oil prices was a "function of optimism" over early signs of a global economic recovery, said Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Naimi ahead of an Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries summit scheduled for Thursday in Vienna, according to Dow Jones Newswires. "There is a lot of optimism in what I am saying because I see the recovery coming," Naimi said. Analysts expect the OPEC cartel to keep member nations' production quotas unchanged on Thursday. U.S. stocks opened on a narrowly mixed note, on the heels of equity gains in Asia and Europe. Underscoring hopes for a rebound, a reading on U.S. consumer confidence jumped to 54.9 in May from an upwardly revised 40.8 in April -- the fourth largest in the 32-year history of the survey -- as expectations for jobs improved, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. The index thus stands at its highest level in eight months. Economists had been expecting a May reading of 43. Also Tuesday, the Energy Information Administration reported that average gasoline prices rose 12.6 cents last week to stand at $2.435 a gallon, the highest level in seven months. The EIA is scheduled to release last week's petroleum inventories data on Thursday, a day late due to the Memorial Day holiday. Rounding out the early energy trading, June-reformulated gasoline rose 1.76 cents, or 1%, to $1.87 a gallon, and June heating oil was flat at $1.5453 a gallon. Natural gas for June delivery fell 3 cents, or 0.9% to $3.507 per million British thermal units.

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