 鲜花( 21)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
5 G( i. v* \) ?7 o- N& G! D, \# h2 L' T1 o; H% c7 h1 R- O. Q/ y
by Tom Randall9 r+ n9 d3 W' T% |
% K3 H8 k# R' C" {- i9 X F
Oil just had its first weekly decline in a month, breaking a rally in crude prices. A bit of context: After what's happened over the last year, "rally" seems a bit of an overstatement. % q, a/ d, v9 ]7 i& x3 v3 p5 b3 \
Oil 'Rally'- P% N8 n. h b2 q; t
# M9 o% B" O, u. z+ ^5 G. I
One big factor that may be driving prices down this week: The U.S. is pumping so much oil it's running out of places to stash it.
3 N& `( g6 }' h; p5 d; i5 zCrude oil in storage in the U.S. has jumped to the highest levels in at least 80 years, according to a Bloomberg Industries analysis. The EIA this week reported that U.S. inventories rose 7.7 million barrels to 425.6 million. That's more than 20 percent higher than the five-year average. ( Z6 [; w3 P5 N2 D- |% u0 t0 I- v0 f
U.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High
, G r$ H& V5 P( E' g
9 }$ E g7 J$ k, y4 G. |The buildup of supply has been "colossal" and is responsible for oil prices falling this week, Thomas Finlon, director of Energy Analytics Group LLC, told Bloomberg News. ) T" I' }. @; g" U% {# g8 j% W6 I
Winter weather and refinery outages have contributed to the supply glut. Even when those conditions subside, topped-out inventories and continued production growth may continue to suppress oil prices for the near- and medium-term, according to Bloomberg Industries. 1 B0 p9 S5 \0 f/ J6 J
Meanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972." q. w, ~- \3 c# s2 M; s$ K
" j! O$ h' y; p5 e! ]% }
U.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA
" l, r: D* T+ k
, J9 |9 M' ~6 k: t( Y |
|