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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon3 o2 f/ p6 l u% a% Y
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by 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.
* w4 m( n0 p1 qOil 'Rally'! _1 Q; U4 R1 C# H+ l
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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.
7 ^; C/ _8 e. z2 Q+ 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. + N5 a2 m- b: m; @
U.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High
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4 `" C5 s6 E, dThe 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. / y+ [8 _9 {% [) l9 a. i8 i" W- X
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. 7 Z3 Z2 l4 E1 I7 c
Meanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.. g; n2 z# q4 a. D8 f
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U.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA
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