Government forecasters raised their projection for U.S. oil production this year and said they expect OPEC output to fall as it accommodates supply growth from other countries. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, in its monthly short-term energy outlook released Tuesday, raised its forecast for total U.S. crude production to 8.5 million barrels per day, up from the 8.4 million barrels last month. The agency kept its forecast for 2015 U.S. production steady at 9.3 million barrels per day, noting it would represent the highest level of annual average oil production since 1972. The change in the production forecast restores the agency’s projection to its prior level before a reduction last month. Meanwhile, the EIA said it expected U.S. average daily oil consumption to fall to 18.88 million barrels a day in 2014 from 18.93 million barrels a day in its prior forecast. The EIA increased its […]