Benchmark Brent oil held above $100 a barrel on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia suggested this week that OPEC could consider cutting output, though bearish economic signals from central bankers and falling equities weighed.

Brent crude for October settlement traded up 10 cents at $100.32 a barrel by 1332 GMT. U.S. crude was up 16 cents at $93.90. European currencies weakened against the dollar while global equities fell to a three-week low on Wednesday ahead of a U.S. central bank symposium on Friday. That event is expected to focus on efforts to tame inflation with higher interest rates, which could weaken growth and dent oil demand.

Both crude oil benchmark contracts touched three-week highs earlier on Wednesday after Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman flagged the possibility of cutting production.

Sources at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) later told Reuters that any cuts by the producer group and its allies, known collectively as OPEC+, are likely to coincide with a return of Iranian oil to the market should Tehran secure a nuclear deal with world powers.

A U.S. official on Monday said that Iran had dropped some of its main demands in negotiations to resurrect a deal to rein in Tehran's nuclear programme.

OPEC+ is already producing 2.9 million barrels per day less than its target, sources said, complicating any decision on cuts or how to calculate the baseline for an output reduction.

"The oil price and supply outlook suggest that an OPEC+ cut is not currently warranted," PVM analyst Stephen Brennock said.

"Global oil supply could take a hit as peak U.S. hurricane season approaches. Elsewhere, future supply outages in Libya cannot be discounted while Nigeria's oil fortunes show little sign of improving."

U.S. crude stockpiles fell by about 5.6 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 19, said market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. Analysts had estimated a drop of 900,000 barrels in a Reuters poll.

U.S. government figures are due at 1430 GMT.

(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla, Additional reporting by Mohi Narayan in New Delhi and Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo, Editing by David Goodman)