Saudi oil minister says output cuts may be extended if necessary -Bloomberg

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A deal to cut oil output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could be extended if inventories remain above average, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday.

OPEC and some non-OPEC producers agreed to cut production from Jan. 1 to reduce record stocks of global crude oil, but the deal has been dampened by data showing persistently rising U.S. stockpiles. [EIA/S]

The U.S.-Saudi relationship is in "perfect" alignment and both countries need a stable oil price, Bloomberg cited Falih as saying in headlines, copies of which Reuters saw.

Saudi will review the oil strategy in mid-second quarter and will do what it takes to make the industry healthy, the report said.

Oil prices rose after the report before giving up the gains quickly to trade largely unchanged.

Reuters reported in February that OPEC could extend its oil supply-reduction pact with non-members or even apply deeper cuts from July if global crude inventories fail to drop to a targeted level.

(Reporting by Devika Krishna Kumar in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)