Oil gained for a fourth consecutive session on the government report, indicating that U.S. stockpiles declined more than what analysts were expecting and on mounting concerns that the political problems in the Middle East will have an adverse effect on world supplies. Prices advanced to their highest level since May as inventories slipped by 3.73 million barrels last week, which is more than double the 1.55 million barrels analysts were projecting. The Prime Minister of Syria, Riad Hijab, who defected this week, arrived in Jordan, while in Egypt aircraft opened fire on gunmen in northern Sinai, killing 20. Crude oil for September delivery gained 25 cents, or 0.3%, to $93.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after touching highs of $94.72 earlier on, which is the black gold’s highest intraday price since May 15th. Oil traded at $94.37 a barrel before the inventory report was released at 10:30 a.m Eastern Time. Futures have risen 22% since they touched an intraday low of $77.28 on June 28th. Brent oil for September settlement added 45 cents, or 0.4%, to $112.45 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. Oil inventories slipped by 1% to 369.9 million barrels last week, which is their lowest level since April 13th.
