 鲜花( 21)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon$ R* v6 F) T x% i3 O/ j
( P7 G; _6 @+ L; E& { h7 s# U, t
by Tom Randall
% ?; N* N5 v7 K
. J( ^6 Y1 r' s- Q+ r r6 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 y( U5 P/ P
Oil 'Rally'. A3 c' r' M. n
1 K" z; W: C4 Z+ J4 M' s
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. 9 p" }0 r+ a% F- F' t" r
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.
+ ^5 `+ S3 {" |2 ZU.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High1 r" X* K& ~! `# e5 O
, C& H/ {5 z& S8 h
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 U2 K! [# A+ D! f; G" GWinter 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.
- y8 Q. V- u0 Y! r# n3 NMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.6 b1 t8 L/ l5 d6 W N/ i5 z+ q
2 W# B4 S8 q( L# `- F4 | |U.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA
! H& q2 c* ]0 H9 D5 k' W- N
; u+ ]( T1 C! G) F9 G |
|