(Corrects settlement price)
* U.S. gasoline stocks show surprise drawdown
* Profit-taking wipes out some gains
* OPEC now thinks 2010 world demand will rise 880,000 bpd
* Coming up: Weekly jobless claims report on Thursday
(Recasts, updates prices and market activity)
By Rebekah Kebede
NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices settled higher on
Wednesday in choppy trading after a government report showed
that gasoline stocks in the United States dropped
unexpectedly.
But after reaching a fresh eight-week high of $83.03, oil
prices pared some of their gains on profit-taking.
U.S. crude for April delivery <CLc1> settled 60 cents
higher at $82.09 per barrel.
London ICE Brent for April <LCOc1> settled at $80.48, up 57
cents.
"Today's EIA data certainly has a bullish undertone with
both gasoline and distillates off much more than expected,"
said Chris Jarvis, senior analyst, Caprock Risk Management,
Hampton Falls, New Hampshire.
"Given the fact that we are heading into the driving
season, a drop in gasoline supplies will drive bullish
sentiment. Couple that with the dollar starting to weaken again
and equities rallying and we wouldn't be surprised to see crude
oil break out of this $80 level and march towards the $90 level
in the coming months."
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. []
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.
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.
Wall Street stocks rose on Wednesday, lifted by bank and
technology shares.[]
The U.S. dollar slipped against a basket of currencies. A
weaker greenback typically supports oil prices as it makes
dollar-denominated commodities such as oil less expensive for
holders of other currencies. []
A report showing that China's imports of crude oil in
February rose to the second highest on record on a daily basis
was also supportive for oil prices. []
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 to $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 Robert Gibbons, Gene Ramos, Eileen
Moustakis in New York, Jo Winterbottom in London; Editing by
Lisa Shumaker)
