By Cho Mee-young

SINGAPORE, Apr 13 (Reuters) Oil topped on Friday, extending a 3 percent gain a day earlier, as traders fret over a spate of refinery outages in the United States that drained gasoline stocks ahead of the summer driving season.

The market was also supported by a caution by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that oil stocks in industrialised nations may drop further in coming months, after recording the biggest first-quarter decline in a decade.

U.S. crude rose 26 cents a barrel at .11 by 0354 GMT, after jumping .84 on Thursday. London Brent for May rose 54 cents at .26 on its expiry day.

Crude prices are up 28 percent from this year's low of .90 in January.

U.S. gasoline inventories have slumped more than 12 percent since early February, with several big plants undergoing planned shutdowns for maintenance, pushing up U.S. gasoline to a fresh eight-month high of SINGAPORE, Apr 13 (Reuters) Oil topped $64 on Friday, extending a 3 percent gain a day earlier, as traders fret over a spate of refinery outages in the United States that drained gasoline stocks ahead of the summer driving season.

The market was also supported by a caution by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that oil stocks in industrialised nations may drop further in coming months, after recording the biggest first-quarter decline in a decade.

U.S. crude rose 26 cents a barrel at $64.11 by 0354 GMT, after jumping $1.84 on Thursday. London Brent for May rose 54 cents at $69.26 on its expiry day.

Crude prices are up 28 percent from this year's low of $49.90 in January.

U.S. gasoline inventories have slumped more than 12 percent since early February, with several big plants undergoing planned shutdowns for maintenance, pushing up U.S. gasoline to a fresh eight-month high of $2.2040 a gallon as of 0329 GMT.

''The tightening fundamentals support the physical oil price rally,'' said Goldman Sachs in its daily report Energy Watch.

Brent was valued at a record-high of $6 above U.S. crude this week due to the relatively high stocks at the NYMEX delivery hub at Cushing, Oklahoma.

Goldman Sachs said that the weakness of U.S. crude to Brent would diminish in the next few months, as the resolution of refinery problems and completion of maintenance works draw down crude stock levels at Cushing. However, trade sources said that Cushing-area refinery outages were expected to rise in May.

And the head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday U.S. refinery demand for crude will not weaken this spring and tight supplies could prompt another summer of $3-a-gallon retail gasoline.

Concerns over U.S. fuel stocks come against the backdrop of waning inventories in other big consumer nations, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cuts totalling 1.7 million barrels per day late last year.

''OPEC supply curbs since last autumn have coincided with two quarters of heavy OECD stock draws and output remains below the level needed to generate the usual spring crude stock build,'' said the IEA, energy adviser to 26 wealthy nations.

Some analysts said a weakening dollar might also be a factor in rising oil prices with producers, who get paid in dollars, worried about the impact on their profits. The euro hit a two-year high against the dollar on Friday.

Tensions between the West and Iran also remain a worry. The head of the International Atomic Energy agency said Iran was still at the initial phase of enriching uranium despite Tehran's announcement this week it had begun industrial enrichment to generate nuclear power for its oil and gas exports.

But Mohamed Elbaradei said that the concern was focused on the intentions of the Islamic Republic, which the West suspects of trying to build atomic weapons, a charge Iran denies.

REUTERS SBA RN1117 .2040 a gallon as of 0329 GMT.

''The tightening fundamentals support the physical oil price rally,'' said Goldman Sachs in its daily report Energy Watch.

Brent was valued at a record-high of above U.S. crude this week due to the relatively high stocks at the NYMEX delivery hub at Cushing, Oklahoma.

Goldman Sachs said that the weakness of U.S. crude to Brent would diminish in the next few months, as the resolution of refinery problems and completion of maintenance works draw down crude stock levels at Cushing. However, trade sources said that Cushing-area refinery outages were expected to rise in May.

And the head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Thursday U.S. refinery demand for crude will not weaken this spring and tight supplies could prompt another summer of -a-gallon retail gasoline.

Concerns over U.S. fuel stocks come against the backdrop of waning inventories in other big consumer nations, as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cuts totalling 1.7 million barrels per day late last year.

''OPEC supply curbs since last autumn have coincided with two quarters of heavy OECD stock draws and output remains below the level needed to generate the usual spring crude stock build,'' said the IEA, energy adviser to 26 wealthy nations.

Some analysts said a weakening dollar might also be a factor in rising oil prices with producers, who get paid in dollars, worried about the impact on their profits. The euro hit a two-year high against the dollar on Friday.

Tensions between the West and Iran also remain a worry. The head of the International Atomic Energy agency said Iran was still at the initial phase of enriching uranium despite Tehran's announcement this week it had begun industrial enrichment to generate nuclear power for its oil and gas exports.

But Mohamed Elbaradei said that the concern was focused on the intentions of the Islamic Republic, which the West suspects of trying to build atomic weapons, a charge Iran denies.

REUTERS SBA RN1117