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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
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; [/ [8 y/ w% sby Tom Randall
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6 I4 p& x" [7 c0 Q) FOil 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. 7 z" l/ S2 j- c, D
Oil 'Rally'
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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. 8 E3 R; e0 h# P# Y. ]7 _
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.
; Q0 U: m) b: q: U4 S$ w, Q( Z2 iU.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High7 U& \7 ~% j- U9 r6 H8 @! g
+ P1 Q4 A( S) ]; f7 _6 |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.
' R1 D7 n0 }: ^3 [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.
* M# d7 [5 [' r+ D9 HMeanwhile, 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
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