Crude oil’s quiet slide from its 2016 high sharpens questions about the outlook for the commodity S ince oil prices hit a year-high above $52 a barrel in June they have slipped almost 20 per cent, leaving them on the cusp of a new bear market and heaping more pressure on oil companies and major producing countries that had hoped the worst of the rout was over. Here are five things traders are tracking to see if the slide continues — or if the sell-off is just a blip in a recovery. Supply and demand Two years since oil began its precipitous decline from above $100 a barrel, troughing below $30 in January, the market appears to be edging closer towards balance. High-cost supplies are declining, demand has been boosted, and concern about the impact of investment cuts on future supplies have all helped the market recover from levels […]