* U.S. gasoline stocks show surprise drawdown
* RBOB gasoline futures break through $2.30
* OPEC now thinks 2010 world demand will rise 880,000 bpd
(Releads after EIA data, adds quotes, updates prices)
By Jo Winterbottom
LONDON, March 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped over $1
towards $83 per barrel and gasoline shot above $2.30 a gallon
for the first time in 17 months on Wednesday as stocks of the
motor fuel in the United States dropped unexpectedly.
Gasoline stocks in the world's largest energy market showed
a surprise drop of 2.9 million barrels to 229 million barrels
last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
reported on Wednesday. []
And U.S. commercial crude oil stockpiles rose 1.4 million
barrels to 343 million barrels in the week to March 5 -- below
the 1.9 million barrels rise that analysts had been expecting.
On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute had spooked
markets by reporting a 6.5 million barrel rise in crude
stockpiles. []
"Today's ... data certainly has a bullish undertone with
both gasoline and distillates off much more than expected," said
Chris Jarvis, senior analyst at Caprock Risk Management.
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel,
fell by 2.2 million barrels, far more than the 900,000 barrel
draw predicted by the market.
U.S. crude for April delivery <CLc1> was up $1.29 at $82.78
by 1629 GMT. London ICE Brent for April gained $1.28 to $81.19.
The April RBOB gasoline futures contract <RBc1> hit $2.3134,
the highest since a $2.4010 intraday peak touched in October
2008.
"The sharper-than-expected ... draw in gasoline stocks
provided verification to yesterday's strong API draw," said Jim
Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates, adding that
buyers were returning to RBOB gasoline futures. []
OPEC SEES DEMAND RISING
Earlier, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) had given a mild boost to prices when it said
it now thought the world would need 28.94 million barrels per
day of its crude this year -- an increase of 190,000 bpd from
its previous assessment. []
It said total world demand was likely to rise by 880,000 bpd
in 2010, up from a previous estimate of 810,000 bpd.
OPEC meets next week in Vienna to discuss output and
analysts expect it to keep targets unchanged. []
OPEC members have suggested prices around $70-80 are
reasonable and on Monday Algeria said levels in the low $80s
were fair. []
The group's biggest producer, Saudi Arabia, will reduce
crude supply in April to a major Asian buyer, but will keep full
contracted volumes to others.
(Additional reporting by New York Energy Desk; editing by David
Sheppard and Sue Thomas)
