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Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
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: y2 S A' |9 n: J) i# W$ t% OOil 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.
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6 m- _8 z2 R( z6 K- P7 wOne 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. & s: a0 m+ N. |9 w' ?
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 P5 h3 N Z l5 h; NU.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High5 C2 {# S1 |, f$ a2 I6 b% b
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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. 3 |& R( x2 G1 F' z- c8 Z. b& U
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.
- s- X/ \( Y2 }; n; UMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.
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U.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA
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