Oil prices gained for the 7th straight day on the Hong Kong market. After a $0.65 advance on Wednesday, the price for light crude gained another $0.78 yesterday to close at $90.65.
This marks the first time since May 29th that crude has traded at over $90, and the last time crude rose for 7 days in a row, was back in February of this year. Factset, a data providing company, says it rose from $100.74 to $109.77 during that spike in trading. The technology sector rallied on Thursday, as most of the Asian markets ended the day with solid gains. This led to a slightly higher opening on Wall Street this morning and investors are ready for a busy day of trading there this morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) gained 34 points to close at 12,894, which was a 0.3% gain. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) climbed 2.80 points, to close with a 0.2% gain at 1,370.10. The Nasdaq Top 100 showed the largest gain (by percentage) with a 0.4% rise, equalling 11.25 points, and a closing of 2631.25.
In a report by the Energy Information Administration, released yesterday, they indicate that the U.S. crude oil inventory was depleted by 800,000 barrels in the week ending on June 13th. This decline was not as large as was expected, however, it was the third straight week that there was a fall in supply.
One thing to keep in mind is that the U.S. dollar did continue to weaken on the Asian markets throughout the trading day.
The latest bombing in Syria, which killed top members of the Assad regime has contributed to the price increases. Additionally, the Bulgarian terrorist attack which killed seven Israelis has heightened tensions between Iran and Israel. Our sources are indicating that Iran and/or Iranian backed Hezzbollah are behind the suicide bombing.
