Lower prices should help stimulate oil consumption in advanced economies, restoring some of the demand lost over the last decade, as the cost of crude soared from less than $50 to more than $100 per barrel. In the late 1980s and through the 1990s, strong growth in demand played a crucial role in rebalancing the market after the slump caused by the two oil shocks in the 1970s. Investments in energy efficiency and policies to encourage conservation ebbed as memories of the oil shocks receded and a long period of relatively low prices encouraged complacency. But it could prove much harder to stimulate increased oil consumption this time around because policies to encourage further reductions in fuel demand for years ahead […]