 鲜花( 21)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon* j/ `; e& U( @* D
) p H3 b3 i U+ ?3 }+ n- j8 ?8 _
by Tom Randall
; m0 f& _5 e" L. a! Z) F- x+ `/ n ~" c7 q
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. I$ Q3 l- U( r" B
Oil 'Rally'
! r7 `- D5 Y0 g" B! o & g, n, q8 B0 A3 \
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 Q0 b3 n0 C/ w/ 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.
/ i" r7 p. T- u: t7 ?# aU.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High
) n: @% }9 }- { P% U) Y
5 E. c4 ^# h/ w8 N& |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.
! G8 w1 |# Y' N" e, aWinter 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 B' w3 f% D7 a: W
Meanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.
3 F* s, v; F7 p' Q. u5 d
; g9 {. D$ g0 w" |) jU.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA
( R$ W6 F8 k% p4 s
+ \3 b2 \, c2 m3 I4 ?& C |
|