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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon. `$ I. j& h2 o1 l
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by Tom Randall
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, i& [' d+ ?! j6 c% \$ p& v' |7 e) {6 XOil 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.
/ X' L+ b% q4 U4 uOil 'Rally'
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$ `1 i% k0 y" n7 ?2 A& ]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. ! p8 M! U$ N4 q' \9 O3 z: 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.
- f$ U$ \( z/ qU.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High% C0 O7 h% D+ x3 g0 m
3 E/ I* |/ R. ?2 V2 \9 FThe 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. 5 k- x' V( B! L% ]0 i. }) u& U
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.
, r4 S. Z/ z) J Q0 z6 t) LMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.7 _+ |- c$ h; }* A& _" K
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U.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA7 k' X+ ^! D) s4 z
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