Oil prices upraise in Asian trade

Oil prices in Asian trade upraised on Thursday thanks to gaining selected deals in spite of escalating unrest due to the debt crisis in Greece and Spain. New York's benchmark contract, West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery, was down 39 cents to reach USD 90.37 barrel earlier on Thursday, and that after it closed its deals in United States last night (Wednesday) at USD 90 pb, being the first time it closes at that level since August 2. Brent North Sea crude for November dipped 29 cents reaching USD 110.33 pb. Greece witnessed a wide strike, while violent protests took place in Spain in protest of austerity measures in order to serve recovery of financial sectors in both countries. Europe and specifically Spain and Greece, is still being the main focus of investors worldwide. Greek police clashed last night with protesters striking against austerity measures in return of loans offered by the European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Around 200 protesters threw Molotov bottles, smashed windows, and set fire in bins during protests that took place close to a fancy hotel at the capital central square, while the police fired them with tear and sound to disperse them. In Spain, the police fired rubber bullets at protesters on Tuesday, at a time the government is preparing to set its austerity budget for the third consecutive year during which the wages of employees at civil services are expected to be collected. Today's deals are considered the lowest for the last two months after the decline in fuel demand in the US to its lowest levels. The usage of fuel retreated in US by 1.1 percent of 18.4 million barrel per day, being the lowest decline since April 6. Last week's crude stock hit its highest levels for 2012 according to a report issued by U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) last night, hitting 365.2 million barrel. The gasoline stocks retreated by 481.000 barrel last week, while the diesel and heating fuel stocks dipped by 482.000 barrel.