Oil rose to hit a six-month high above $63 a barrel on Wednesday after OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia said the global economy had strengthened enough to cope with oil at $75-$80 a barrel.

Speaking ahead of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' meeting in Vienna on Thursday, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said oil prices would continue to rise, recovering from lows near $32 at the turn of the year.

"The price rise is a function of optimism better things are coming in the future," Naimi told reporters in Vienna.

"We see offshoots of recovery," he added. "Demand is picking up, especially in Asia."

The minister said OPEC on Thursday did not need to change its output policy, which has already seen the group agree to remove 4.2 million barrels per day of oil from the market in a bid to shore up prices battered by recession.

U.S. crude oil for July delivery rose to touch $63.45 a barrel, the highest level since mid-November, before easing slightly to trade up 78 cents at $63.23 a barrel by 0845 GMT (4:45 a.m. EDT).

London Brent crude rose 81 cents to $62.05

Oil prices gained more than 1 percent on Tuesday, bolstered by a jump in U.S. consumer confidence. Signs of a modest recovery in Japanese exports on Wednesday further boosted expectations the world is slowly emerging from its worst financial crisis in decades.

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source: Reuters