 鲜花( 21)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
Another Big Reason to Think Oil Prices Aren't Going Up Soon
6 q9 d& Z' s. Z: H0 {1 }9 K! ?6 M' j) N4 S& \+ k" @; n
by Tom Randall
* O1 G( d ?. x0 b/ g2 ` o
' j; v7 m1 X# w7 ?6 T5 O kOil 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.
" w, t4 }' m3 JOil 'Rally'
$ b& b' }- E" R/ r4 a 5 h5 @8 c+ I# i: A
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.
3 ?1 P. l7 h+ YCrude 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. . ]" v E" {5 l/ X# ]5 W" E6 s; l
U.S. Oil Inventories Reach 80-Year High
1 R: J3 Y. e1 p! x7 w, a 9 c q. k: v5 d* V0 w0 C
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.
- O6 K9 R0 q" b& C$ r; @6 XWinter 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.
5 s. N- _6 p8 @7 B- lMeanwhile, the U.S. is pumping oil at a faster pace than any time since 1972.& K# P* e- b; |
& m1 g- v" j( U: z" YU.S. oil production since 1983. Source: EIA& l7 G& H9 u, n. ?4 l/ f) L
, S" C( `/ e4 F: ]8 Y( A# V, { |
|