鲜花( 21) 鸡蛋( 0)
|
Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
4 J, K6 }# I6 i* l& e0 R
/ q: p- Y P7 a: ?' ~* yby Tom Randall; T9 B# B1 W0 D2 Z- ]- V7 Z& X6 J; z
: [; c# _, m% q6 j @1 S
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. - B" h2 i% \3 i
Oil 'Rally'" O& g2 k3 l# u7 s9 ?+ y' h7 K
9 f# m7 b2 \' E, G, a# ~) l
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 V& d! e' P9 ]5 eCrude 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. 6 U& S$ G" s; D
U.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High
0 n3 `+ j% j/ c- \7 @4 E 5 U, w( E6 b/ D
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. * p% C# K! V+ }5 l5 |2 @* ]- o
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.
6 V3 M/ J) X( e; j! c$ gMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.
* W( F0 e% r" W
1 h) J6 r; R8 S& i$ FU.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA4 t2 x% ~0 X: }* V
P Y( g; {) a4 S, u9 P0 l+ [7 h |
|