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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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5 |9 E1 I1 ?& y( w( l! Y$ oOil 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. 8 Y* Q/ u/ M% C
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. % g. u3 y" B" q# m- I+ t
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.
2 E) s4 c" S i [U.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High$ X7 D0 D" O6 W! V
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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.
0 M* d" |, f9 r r1 N9 g: o7 G. hWinter 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.
; g; {% _7 m: J+ l) xMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.
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0 |4 B) w9 b9 x5 HU.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA' y5 l+ d/ V: A/ O
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