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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
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8 _ U H1 N* W5 xby Tom Randall- u! e1 j; J, d
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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. 0 `% g9 K* r8 q6 C
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* d( l: l2 _/ }- r/ |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.
" N* {! r8 l& F$ }8 |8 B" c$ i: `Crude 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.
( q4 {9 Q, x% P. \U.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High
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6 n( v6 F7 I2 u% }3 OThe 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.
^+ Q8 c+ ^, y" s% d+ t4 bWinter 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.
. i8 e1 ?9 T' p5 W: S: RMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.
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8 D: a! D5 u8 V/ uU.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA# K3 i5 y2 e3 C P) V! E& U
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