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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon( l1 x0 p8 o9 h# V4 k! T' w% U
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by Tom Randall* T* u) G/ I' c7 o7 k
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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.
$ |2 O1 {; Q- w3 k' p4 B( c% qOil 'Rally'! H6 C( k9 ]3 q: {+ E9 X
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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. 9 n& T* p. t- }- q" Z8 J: m0 }9 c7 y
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.
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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.
- Y( t% H! F* m8 F- o3 Q- k4 ZWinter 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.
+ L. @ @0 m9 U' M MMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.
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6 D: |& ?2 X% D& lU.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA' {( f: F6 K/ R- j- P, w6 F5 f
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