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Crude Oil Reaches 15-Month High

John Murphy

John Murphy

Chief Technical Analyst, StockCharts.com

Chart 1 shows Light Crude Oil trading at the highest level in fifteen months. My July 5 message showed crude oil trading higher in an attempt to close the gap between it and higher priced brent crude. As of today, crude is only a dollar away from its European counterpart. With oil prices on the rise, investors appear to be showing new interest in energy stocks. My July 8 message showed the Market Vectors Oil Services ETF (OIH) moving up toward its 2013 highs. Chart 2 show the OIH very close to challenging its May peak. Its relative strength ratio (gray area) has also started to climb since June. That same message showed upside breakouts in Baker Hughes (BHI) and National OIlwell Varco (NOV). Today's upside breakout belongs to Schlumberger (SLB). Chart 3 shows SLB trading over its spring high with a rising relative strength ratio. SLB is also the largest holding in the OIH.

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John Murphy
About the author: is the Chief Technical Analyst at StockCharts.com, a renowned author in the investment field and a former technical analyst for CNBC, and is considered the father of inter-market technical analysis. With over 40 years of market experience, he is the author of numerous popular works including “Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets” and “Trading with Intermarket Analysis”. Before joining StockCharts, John was the technical analyst for CNBC-TV for seven years on the popular show Tech Talk, and has authored three best-selling books on the subject: Technical Analysis of the Financial Markets, Trading with Intermarket Analysis and The Visual Investor. Learn More