NEW YORK, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Crude oil jumped more than 11 percent to settle above 47 U.S. dollars a barrel on Thursday on a better-than-expected U.S. retail sales data and OPEC meeting in Vienna this weekend.

    Light, sweet crude for April delivery rallied 4.70 dollars to settle at 47.03 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

    The U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales dropped0.1 percent in February, which was better than the 0.5 percent drop expected by economists. Investors believe it may signal that consumer spending could be stabilizing.

    OPEC will meet on Sunday to discuss output policy and investors have been speculating that the oil cartel will talk about stricter compliance with its existing production cuts. Some members including Venezuela and Iran have said that further output cut is necessary.

    In London, Brent crude gained 3.69 dollars to 45.09 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.