(New throughout as market extends rally on data showing strong U.S. gasoline draw)
By Barani Krishnan
NEW YORK, March 9 (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped 3 percent on Wednesday after a huge draw in U.S. gasoline inventories last week convinced the market that energy demand was improving despite U.S. crude stockpiles hitting record highs for a fourth week.
Crude prices also gained support on speculation that top oil producers might agree soon to an output freeze.
Brent LCOc1 was up $1.15, or 2.9 percent, at $40.80 a barrel by 11:10 a.m. EST (1610 GMT), after touching a session high at $41.11.
U.S. crude CLc1 was up $1.27 at $37.77.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude stockpiles USOILC=ECI rose 3.9 million barrels to nearly 522 million barrels, as predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll.
But gasoline inventories USOILG=ECI fell 4.5 million barrels, much more than the polled number of 1.4 million barrels. EIA/S
"Gasoline is the star of the show today. Ongoing strength in demand has yielded a large draw to gasoline inventories despite a rebound in refinery runs," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at New York-headquarter energy data provider ClipperData.
U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 hit November highs, rallying 4 percent.
Earlier in the session, oil rallied after an Iraqi oil official told a state newspaper that producers in and outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plan to meet in Moscow on March 20 to discuss an output freeze. But Russia's energy ministry said no date or place had been set for the meeting. (Additional eporting by Amanda Cooper in LONDON and Henning Gloystein in SINAGPORE; Editing by Alden Bentley and Marguerita Choy)