Oil rose for a third day, the longest winning streak in a month, as slowing growth in China fueled stimulus speculation and U.S. equities advanced. Crude gained as much as 1.4 percent as China’s growth slowed to the weakest pace in three years, putting pressure on the government to act. U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gaining for the first time in seven days.

China’s economic expansion slowed for a sixth quarter, growing at 7.6 percent in the second quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed today. That compares with an 8.1 percent gain in the previous period and the 7.7 percent median forecast of economists. Industrial production increased at a slower pace in June while retail sales growth decelerated.

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Oil also advanced on the as the U.S. announced more sanctions on Iran. Yesterday the Obama administration sanctioned the National Iranian Tanker Co. and four alleged front companies for Iran’s oil trade, the latest salvo in a U.S.-led campaign to curtail Iran’s petroleum sales until it abandons illicit aspects of its disputed nuclear program.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced it would freeze American assets belonging to the tanker operator, known as NITC, and block the company’s transactions from the U.S. financial system.

The August futures on U.S. light crude oil WTI (Light Sweet Crude Oil) on the NYMEX rose 0.85% and now stands at $ 86.93 a barrel.

August futures price for North Sea petroleum mix of mark Brent rose $ 2.24 to the level of 102.88 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange.