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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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$ v7 B' i3 t+ ~2 I) MOil 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.
5 E! V1 v6 P! V! V' W* EOil '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.
1 S1 @/ ?& N& x6 k# w' ]! r& WCrude 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.
! a( q7 R9 E' Z/ z. R6 dU.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High
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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.
# B; W/ l' D( pWinter 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.
2 w( U$ \6 h) e+ q6 p6 sMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.& K8 n0 n& a! t, m7 n! [2 E
# T; P% A2 n& e; lU.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA
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