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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
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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.
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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. , R, \) B) S. g/ K
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. # x, p5 B* g) J Q4 U
U.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High( `" `! M+ h v
0 M* m6 A4 I6 R7 J0 `$ |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. 4 d/ O, Z& X5 L8 L9 x2 y
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. 3 U* h5 ]% [* ?# H
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
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