Crude oil futures rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday, gaining over $1 a barrel, as conviction strengthened that monetary stimulus measures from major central banks would stay in place for the time being. U.S. GDP data on Wednesday that slashed the estimate of first-quarter economic growth and comments from Federal Reserve governors assured investors that the Fed is in no rush to scale back its massive bond-buying program, reports Reuters, Brent crude for August delivery tested its 50-day moving average, rising as high as $103.34 before ending the day up $1.16 at $102.82 a barrel. Brent is on track for its longest stretch of daily gains since mid-May. U.S. crude rose for a fourth straight session, breaking through its 14-day moving average to end up $1.55 at $97.05 a barrel. U.S. crude has outperformed Brent in three of the last four sessions, narrowing Brent's premium to crude to $5.77 at Thursday's close, from as wide as $7.40 on June 24.

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