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Oil Caps Record Two-Year Loss as Supply Glut Seen Prolonged

  • U.S. inventories in 2015 grew by almost 102 million barrels
  • WTI crude marks first back-to-back annual loss since 1998
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Will Oil Keep Dominating Headlines in 2016?

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Oil capped its biggest two-year loss on record in New York as expanding U.S. crude stockpiles exacerbated a global glut.

Futures dropped 30 percent in 2015, and averaged the lowest level since 2004. U.S. supplies rose 102 million barrels over the year, the biggest jump since at least 1920 in government data. The 62 percent loss since 2013 exceeded the slump driven by the Asian economic crisis from 1997 to 1998.