 鲜花( 21)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
8 j1 q9 P/ O+ e+ k; `
, W9 p9 N: B( `& Aby Tom Randall
: C0 E. q: u# C* ~% J% ], e! g: C; H5 X( K; H) r& p1 n) U
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.
! s o. o: r$ Q3 [Oil 'Rally'- h7 B3 X; I; \0 k+ d
' i, V# n: R( y$ d3 d' m" J2 j
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.
$ ~( `: n, d( H$ {- h; qCrude 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.
6 E6 m E( t7 S1 j( L& S! XU.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High1 ]# g. q2 A) z8 q5 |
6 F# b& Q/ t0 j- a% @, xThe 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. 2 [7 k7 P! h& P: r* z8 k# }! p9 _
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.
9 \+ M5 \: X$ [7 ^. Y. ]/ E+ g( mMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.
O: X+ r4 R7 d; K7 O0 Z
1 T3 V; _* o/ K) e' fU.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA
+ n: c/ k/ V) z( A# f% M# w% j- |6 P# I( ~3 p! L
|
|