Oil prices climb more than $1 ahead of WTI June contract expiry

* June WTI contract hits 9-week high before Tuesday's expiry
* No sign of repeat of price rout on eve of May contract
expiry
* Steady H2 recovery possible if no 2nd coronavirus wave -
Powell
* Saudi-Kuwait to shut joint production field in June -
media

By Florence Tan
SINGAPORE, May 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped by more than
$1 a barrel on Monday to their highest in more than a month,
supported by ongoing output cuts and signs of gradual recovery
in fuel demand as more countries ease curbs imposed to stop the
coronavirus pandemic spreading.
Brent crude LCOc1 climbed $1.34, or 4.1%, to $33.84 a
barrel by 1244 GMT, after touching a high since April 13. U.S.
West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 was up $1.40, or 4.8%, at
$30.83 a barrel, the highest in nine weeks or since March 16.
The June WTI contract expires on Tuesday, but there was
little sign of WTI repeating the historic plunge below zero seen
last month on the eve of the May contract's expiry amid signs
that demand for crude and derived fuels is recovering from its
nadir. Production is also falling as U.S. energy firms cut the
number of oil and natural gas rigs operating to an all-time low
for a second consecutive week. That partly helped ease concerns
about the WTI contract's delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma,
running out of space. EIA/S The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which hosts trading in WTI
futures, brokerages and the United States Oil Fund LP USO.P ,
the largest oil-focused exchange-traded product in the country,
have all taken steps that reduce open positions ahead of the WTI
contract's expiry.
The positive mood was reinforced as U.S. Federal Reserve
Chairman Jerome Powell issued an optimistic outlook for economic
recovery later this year.
"Assuming there is not a second wave of the coronavirus, I
think you will see the economy recover steadily through the
second half of this year," Powell said Sunday night in broadcast
remarks. Also supporting oil prices are production cuts by the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its
allies, including Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+.
The world's top exporter Saudi Arabia announced last week
that it would cut an additional 1 million barrels per day in
June, while OPEC+ wants to maintain existing oil cuts beyond
June when the group is next due to meet.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have agreed to halt oil production
from the joint Al-Khafji field for one month, starting from June
1, Kuwait's Al Rai newspaper reported on Saturday.