RAISE TAXES AS IT DROPS:

A combination of tepid global oil demand and steadily improving supply has taken the steam out of high oil prices and overshadowed otherwise bullish forces like the improving U.S. jobs market, traders and analysts said. A stable supply cushion has also blunted the impact of possible political turmoil in Venezuela following the death of President Hugo Chávez.

"We have some of the highest oil supplies ever," said Stephen Schork, president of the trading advisory firm the Schork Group. "We're practically swimming in oil."

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