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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
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6 `$ O+ N2 P, @/ P# V6 q6 W! Y2 ?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.
& q* e- E* ?- o6 k4 bOil 'Rally'! M+ E3 f! A9 l, d$ _: W! [
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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. . O. Y+ g U: B4 N! j
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. % u# U- z7 p3 L9 ^$ Z' I6 u3 V% o
U.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High3 U) F) v! l. n
8 d7 W2 z& ^& X+ U. F' j( q: aThe 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.
& n ~+ J$ T C5 s5 _# t& Y3 ]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. , s* l7 @0 k7 r
Meanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.
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U.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA" D7 S! k* y* p+ p j
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