Brent crude oil prices fell to $84/bbl at the end of October from $95/bbl at the beginning of the month. A handful of core drivers for this tumble include weakening outlooks for global economic and oil demand growth, the return to the market of previously disrupted Libyan crude oil production , and continued growth in US tight-oil production. In the most recently released Short-Term Energy Outlook , the US Energy Information Administration projects that Brent crude oil prices will average $83/bbl in 2015, $18/bbl lower than forecast in last month’s STEO. “There is significant uncertainty over the crude oil price forecast because of the range of potential supply responses from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, and US tight-oil producers to the new lower oil price environment,” EIA said. As noted by the outlook, Saudi Arabia’s role in the […]