Saudi Arabia has said it will not allow oil shortages that would harm world economic growth, despite its support for production cuts through OPEC that have been publicly criticised by the United States.
"Saudi Arabia's policy is consistent. Number one: we will not allow any shortages in the market," Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to the United States, told reporters.
Prince Bandar said he had passed along a message to US President George W Bush from Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Abdullah.
Saudi Arabia, OPEC's most influential member, was seen as leading a cartel move to cut production by about 4 per cent.
The Bush administration criticised the action, after asking OPEC to delay production cuts because of record-high US retail gasoline prices, which are making consumers angry.
"I have just passed a message from Crown Prince Abdullah to the president regarding the energy situation," Prince Bandar said. "The president and the crown prince have been in touch on this subject for a while now. Both leaders feel strongly that higher energy prices have a negative impact on the world economy."
The statement may lend some political help to Mr Bush, who, in an election year, is facing criticism from Democrats that he is doing too little to stem rising petrol prices.
Americans are paying record prices of about $1.76 per gallon, on average, to fill their gasoline tanks. The price jumps have come just ahead of the summer driving season, when US gasoline consumption hits its peak.