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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
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+ a1 C) y. ~3 y* c) r5 Oby 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.
( U% |2 S$ J, ?3 ZOil '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.
& ^, A% V- S' g: k& gCrude 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; s! c3 F; P! O& aU.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.
8 f. l7 ? T) o8 _- vWinter 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.
Q9 C. c1 ^9 l: `8 l' PMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972./ b# W' B6 v* z2 Q1 u
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U.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA
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