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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
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b9 d" @" y2 {/ y7 `- q- D1 B9 ~by Tom Randall) W* e$ }. r7 K
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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.
( ^6 ~) m) o! \$ T+ @Oil 'Rally'2 k% P1 D8 @2 f# `
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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.
: n/ l& L. v' vCrude 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. * K, \) o: z6 K) r3 T3 v5 B
U.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High7 m+ I7 f" |( e& w2 W2 t
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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.
( F7 r; m6 u! A0 J# TWinter 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. 1 a0 h" ]' F, z6 x6 q0 t( V; e# r8 @
Meanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.0 b, n$ `8 P. D0 t7 j5 v! L: B
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U.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA! g. {( I _: [
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