 | |
 |  |
Back in November, we highlighted this chart of US oil production. We called it the chart of the year.
And now, the chart of the year is even more impressive.
Mark Perry at AEI tweeted out an updated version of the chart on Wednesday after the EIA's latest status report showed that US crude output surged again during the first week in December.
Crude production rose to 9.12 million barrels per day in the first week of December, the highest since 1986.
Back in November, we highlighted comments from Deutsche Bank economist Torsten Slok, who said, "The most important reason why oil prices are falling is because of the dramatic increase in recent years in US crude oil production."
And this story hasn't changed. On Thanksgiving, OPEC - the 12-member oil cartel that includes oil exporters like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - declined to curb production in an effort to combat the decline in prices.
On Wednesday, Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi told reporters that market pressures push commodities up and down, up and down. "Why should I cut production?" Al-Naimi asked reporters.
Three weeks ago when we first highlighted this chart, WTI crude oil was trading at around $75; on Wednesday, WTI was near $61.
And US production, at least for now, is showing no signs of slowing down.
@Mark_J_Perry