Oil rose in price by almost 9% after an unexpected drop in crude stocks in the United States and an increase in demand for gasoline.
US crude oil futures for April delivery settled $US3.73 higher at $US45.38 per barrel, up 8.96%. London Brent crude settled $US2.42 higher at $US46.12 per barrel.
The Energy Information Administration says US stocks of crude oil have declined by 700,000 barrels. Demand for gasoline over the past four weeks was up 2.2% from a year ago.
Meanwhile, members of OPEC are expected to consider a further cut in production on 15 March.
OPEC has already lowered oil output by 4.2 million barrels per day since September.
