Commodities: Saudi's Al-Falih doesn't rule out 'further measures'

Energy futures were again the most sought-out segment in the commodity space on Wednesday as the Greenback extended its recent correction on the back of 'dovish' remarks from multiple top officials from the US Federal Reserve.

As of 2009 GMT, the Bloomberg commodity index was 1.22% higher at 79.91, alongside a 0.70% drop in the US dollar spot index to 95.2310.

Brent crude oil futures for March delivery were pacing gains, rising 4.43% to $61.32 a barrel on the ICE, alongside a move higher of 4.88% for West Texas Intermediate to $52.21 a barrel.

Helping crude move higher, earlier in the session, Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih reportedly said the Kingdom's target output cuts would be completed in January.

He reportedly also chose not to rule out the possibility of "further measures" to restrain supply should it again exceed demand, although he expected the already announced cuts to suffice to balance the market.

On that note, according to the latest weekly inventory figures from the US Department of Energy, while US crude stockpiles fell by 1.8m barrels over the week ending on 4 January, those of gasoline and distillates rocketed by 8.1m and 10.6m barrels, respectively.

"The hefty gains in refined product stocks, despite the dip in the refinery utilisation rate, make it clear that growth in demand is slowing," said Yasemin Engin at Capital Economics.