Oil analysts and economists believe that $70 a barrel is a more realistic outlook for Brent Crude prices for the rest of the year than $80 oil, as COVID variants and the geopolitics of oil will continue to be a source of volatility on the market, the monthly Reuters poll showed on Friday. Brent Crude prices are expected to average $68.76 a barrel this year, 38 analysts and economists who took part in the Reuters poll said. The forecast from end-July is higher than the June estimate in the same poll, where analysts had predicted Brent Crude prices averaging $67.48 per barrel in 2021. So far this year, Brent prices have averaged $66.57 a barrel. Early on Friday, the international benchmark traded at $76.21 at 9:30 a.m. EDT, up by 0.21 percent on the day. Analysts do not rule out Brent prices overshooting to $80 and higher in the […]