Oil prices have fallen a long way this year. They might fall much further still. Crude prices have fallen 36% since their summer peak, then sent into a tailspin by the failure of OPEC, the cartel of oil producing countries accounting for 40% of global supply, to trim its output quotas. And history suggests prices can fall substantially further. It’s worth bearing in mind that for nearly two decades to 2005, crude oil prices largely ranged between $20 and $40 a barrel in today’s money. The average inflation-adjusted price of West Texas Intermediate oil since 1970 is a little under $55 a barrel compared with a little under $70 now. That’s not to say that’s how far they’ll drop. A rapid technical snap-back is always a possibility. But the fundamentals seem stacked towards lower rather than higher prices for now. Which will make for some interesting economic dynamics. Current […]