For oil prices to rise, demand must increase. That’s the gist of a new article from Forbes’ contributor Jude Clemente. Strong demand from East Asia may be weakening, as China slows its crude stockpiling and import demand declines. Surging U.S. production, which has turned the U.S. into a net energy exporter, will keep prices low without a concomitant increase in global fossil fuel demand. That demand, as Clemente and others have noted, may be peaking soon. The IEA forecasts peak demand arriving after 2040, an outlook that is shared by BP, another peak demand prophet. Shell is even more pessimistic, predicting peak demand by the late 2020s , based on the growth of the electric car market and changing environmental and energy regulations. Shell, BP and Statoil see growing energy efficiency, the conversion to electric cars and the rising demand for natural gas as the chief reasons for falling […]