U.S. oil prices dropped below $80 a barrel Monday after a major U.S. bank slashed its price forecasts for the first half of the coming year. Goldman Sachs cut its oil forecasts for the first quarter of 2015 in a note released Monday. The bank’s Brent forecast is now $85 a barrel for the first two quarters of 2015, down from $100 a barrel previously. Its forecast for the U.S. benchmark is now $75 for the first quarter, down from $90 a barrel. Light, sweet oil for December delivery recently fell $1.38, or 1.7%, to $79.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest intraday price since June 2012. The U.S. benchmark price has dipped below the psychologically important $80-a-barrel level in intraday trading several times this month, but it has always bounced back. Brent recently traded down $1.31, or […]