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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon* R7 ?3 V4 d: F L' z
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by Tom Randall
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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. 6 A, z4 H6 `" B1 Q X
Oil 'Rally'
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% @. q) ~ a$ I6 K2 gOne 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. ; A; x6 l- D6 j) @2 [
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.
, P2 g3 `& q" V+ dU.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High
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) S/ {. g! C2 xThe 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.
1 D2 y/ u( H0 z& ]0 U" @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.
( V; X" e0 | [; u* {3 ^& oMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.
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7 r. [/ y( x. | r/ U: T2 y3 t8 DU.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA
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