Drilling for oil in North Dakota. U.S. production has soared to its highest level since 1986 due to new technologies enabling producers to access oil trapped in shale-rock formations. Minneapolis Star Tribune/Zuma Press Plunging oil prices in the second half of 2014 upended global economic forecasts, boosted consumer spending and roiled markets from Moscow to Midland, Texas. Now, analysts and investors—most of whom were caught off-guard when U.S. prices dropped from $107.26 a barrel in June to $53.27 a barrel Wednesday—are calling low prices the new normal. Investors and traders say a price recovery likely won’t come until the second half of 2015, as U.S. oil output keeps rising and subdued global growth weighs on demand. It will take months for the global glut of oil to shrink, market participants say. Producers will be slow to cut back on drilling, and consumers won’t change their buying habits right […]